Wildsky
Garden Ornament
Yeah I need an avatar!!!omeletta said:
I hope its sooner than 2 years! I will need to clean ou tin spring and don't want to keep POO for too long!
Black thumb looking for rehab!
- Thread starter omeletta
- Start date
I hope its sooner than 2 years! I will need to clean ou tin spring and don't want to keep POO for too long!
digitS'
Garden Master
Tanya, Holly, manure and other compostables can be processed into a usable fertilizer/soil amendment in as little as two weeks. But, that requires attention to what goes into the compost pile and frequent turning. Monitoring the temperature is probably also a good idea.
If you had simply manure, it would be dangerous to your plants. But, since you've already mixed your manure with shavings, etc. it may be a little difficult to measure how much is manure and how much is something else. Still, it is on its way to becoming good plant food. :rose
My old Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening gives a lot of information on building a suitable bin and what can go in it. To make compost quickly, you'll need to think about something called the "carbon-nitrogen ratio" of the materials used and the mixture. Are eyes beginning to glaze over?? Okay, remember that this is for quick, 14-day or so composting.
Your shavings are probably something like 400 to 1, carbon to nitrogen. The chicken & rabbit manure is something like 20 or 30 to 1, carbon to nitrogen. The optimal ratio within the completed compost pile is 30 to 1, carbon to nitrogen. So, you see that you can't have much shavings in there for quick decomposition. You can overcome this less-than-optimal balance by applying high-nitrogen fertilizer as you build the pile.
What will happen with this 30 to 1 C to N balance and with adequate moisture is that the temperature of the pile will climb to over 140F! It will start to cool and you'll get in there and stir it up (wear a mask) and the temp will shoot back up. Probably you will need to mix it yet again and it will heat and then cool down for good and be ready to use.:tools
I used to toss in ammonium sulfate as I built the pile but now, I do one of two things: I simply bury a couple inches of the manure and litter in the garden with at least 8 inches of soil on top or I give the pile more time to decompose. Easier but much, much slower.
Since I've always been around to use my compost
, giving the pile more time hasn't been a problem. The last 10 or 15 years, I haven't used any compost that was less than 18 months old. A compost pile is build (slowly) over one growing season. The following year, it is kept moist and any weeds are pulled off of it. In the Spring of the next year, it is used in the garden. The material at the bottom of the pile is fully 2 years old.
This scheme means that I have 2 compost piles in the garden right now - one from 2006 and one from 2007. I'll use the 2006 material in a few months. The 2007 pile is just going to sit there and be food for the microbes and red worms. You should know that by Spring the worms will be just thick in that 2007 pile. It's almost frightening!
Here's a pdf file from New Mexico State University that talks about bins, compost material, the entire process, and, also, composting with worms.
Steve
If you had simply manure, it would be dangerous to your plants. But, since you've already mixed your manure with shavings, etc. it may be a little difficult to measure how much is manure and how much is something else. Still, it is on its way to becoming good plant food. :rose
My old Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening gives a lot of information on building a suitable bin and what can go in it. To make compost quickly, you'll need to think about something called the "carbon-nitrogen ratio" of the materials used and the mixture. Are eyes beginning to glaze over?? Okay, remember that this is for quick, 14-day or so composting.
Your shavings are probably something like 400 to 1, carbon to nitrogen. The chicken & rabbit manure is something like 20 or 30 to 1, carbon to nitrogen. The optimal ratio within the completed compost pile is 30 to 1, carbon to nitrogen. So, you see that you can't have much shavings in there for quick decomposition. You can overcome this less-than-optimal balance by applying high-nitrogen fertilizer as you build the pile.
What will happen with this 30 to 1 C to N balance and with adequate moisture is that the temperature of the pile will climb to over 140F! It will start to cool and you'll get in there and stir it up (wear a mask) and the temp will shoot back up. Probably you will need to mix it yet again and it will heat and then cool down for good and be ready to use.:tools
I used to toss in ammonium sulfate as I built the pile but now, I do one of two things: I simply bury a couple inches of the manure and litter in the garden with at least 8 inches of soil on top or I give the pile more time to decompose. Easier but much, much slower.
Since I've always been around to use my compost
, giving the pile more time hasn't been a problem. The last 10 or 15 years, I haven't used any compost that was less than 18 months old. A compost pile is build (slowly) over one growing season. The following year, it is kept moist and any weeds are pulled off of it. In the Spring of the next year, it is used in the garden. The material at the bottom of the pile is fully 2 years old.This scheme means that I have 2 compost piles in the garden right now - one from 2006 and one from 2007. I'll use the 2006 material in a few months. The 2007 pile is just going to sit there and be food for the microbes and red worms. You should know that by Spring the worms will be just thick in that 2007 pile. It's almost frightening!
Here's a pdf file from New Mexico State University that talks about bins, compost material, the entire process, and, also, composting with worms.
Steve
Wildsky
Garden Ornament
Yeah my eyes glazed over - 
Interesting reading all the posts....
I think I'm going to find a little corner or spot on the property somewhere to dump all my shavings and chicken poop and leave it till 2009
(much easier than trying to figure it all out!)
and gosh if we get worms - won't the chickens be pleased!
Interesting reading all the posts....
I think I'm going to find a little corner or spot on the property somewhere to dump all my shavings and chicken poop and leave it till 2009
(much easier than trying to figure it all out!)and gosh if we get worms - won't the chickens be pleased!
