Best Composting Tips

JalapenosinDelco

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Right now, all I have is coffee grounds for compost. Dad tells me he doesn't like fresh veggies...so, no salad trimmings. The egg shells stand out too obviously for now. So I stopped putting them out. Even crushed, they still look like eggshells. I can't even get out to the garden yet to evaluate what is growing in it.
I was told too much coffee isn’t liked by the microbes growing in the compost. My husband works from home and drinks a lot of coffee and I was told I may be a better weed blocker. Now we use it to line our walkway to our house which is riddled with weeds and grass creeping in from the sides. Hopefully it works...
Egg shells do take a while to break down, although; they little sharp pieces may help deter rabbits from intruding as they feel the sharp pieces under foot... or so I’ve been told.
If you don’t have free manure around, you can always buy some from Home Depot/Loews etc. Add dry dead stuff from around your yard: grass clippings, dead leaves, dried pine needles, etc. There you have it!
 

baymule

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All the browns (dead stuff) will heat up nicely and break down when you add the green stuff (grass clippings). Nice job of a compost bin and a great helper too! Do you have any chickens?
 

Ridgerunner

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No photos of the chicks? Come on now, they are cute. :p

One big benefit of chicken poop in compost when they are laying is that they do not digest all the calcium they eat. A fair portion goes right on through and out the rear end. Calcium is an essential nutrient for many plants, if not all plants. Yours are still young so they should not be eating that much extra calcium, that comes for the egg shells when they start laying. Even this young I agree chicken poop is a great ingredient on compost.
 

JalapenosinDelco

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No photos of the chicks? Come on now, they are cute. :p

One big benefit of chicken poop in compost when they are laying is that they do not digest all the calcium they eat. A fair portion goes right on through and out the rear end. Calcium is an essential nutrient for many plants, if not all plants. Yours are still young so they should not be eating that much extra calcium, that comes for the egg shells when they start laying. Even this young I agree chicken poop is a great ingredient on compost.
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It’s still too cold to move them outside yet.
This was from a super warm day last week.
I’m a little weary about letting them into the compost even though I’ve heard they do a good job of moving it. We’re in the middle of suburbia and not only are we a little nervous of our neighbors having any issues with us having them, were also worried about them wandering off, getting hit by a car, snatched by the hawks all around our area, or attacked by a neighbors dog as there are many in the area.
 

Dirtmechanic

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I compost squirrels mainly. I bury them inside the dripline of trees. Amino acids from protein is a big deal. So too is E-coli and some other bio-bother. I do not chase my piles so hard that I am up on a temp and time schedule for sanitation although I should be. I mean I bought a compost temp gauge. It is still shiny and new.
 

seedcorn

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I compost squirrels mainly. I bury them inside the dripline of trees. Amino acids from protein is a big deal. So too is E-coli and some other bio-bother. I do not chase my piles so hard that I am up on a temp and time schedule for sanitation although I should be. I mean I bought a compost temp gauge. It is still shiny and new.
Compost squirrels? They are good eating. I’d compost what is left after supper....
 

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