Best Composting Tips

[digitS']

Let me say one thing about chickens and mice.

If the chickens can patrol all sides of the bin,

.. you should have NO problems with mice in there.

Steve

 

[akroberts]

They will definitely be able to access it from all sides. I'm thinking that if I bury it about 4 inches in the ground they will have better access to it.

Let me say one thing about chickens and mice.

If the chickens can patrol all sides of the bin,

.. you should have NO problems with mice in there.

Steve

 

[akroberts]

After seeing some posts on BYC I am now again contemplating where to put the compost system. In the chickens run, in a trench, in a potluck garden? Any idea?

 

[Marie2020]

@ducks4you and @baymule

A couple of years ago, I believe it was you ladies that suggested I use cardboard in my raised bed.

I have only just found this clip, after the first WW. How they used and shared ideas on rebuilding garden soil.

They used the unused nitrogen, from the left over bombs that were no longer being used and informed the public on what to use on top if it.

Never Buy Bagged Soil Again After Seeing This

 

[ducks4you]

LIke the video says, cardboard is a Temporary, non poisonous layer. Weed seeds sit under the surface. When somebody tills up the soil, they pull up the weed seeds, the soil fragments and pools together becoming less friable and you get a weed explosion. MY weed problems are different mostly bc of burdock, brought TO my property BY my horses and me, involuntarily.
I Hope to kill off burdock in the South Pasture in 2026, by covering with cardboard, then move recent compost with my tractor to cover.
Fortunately most vendors are shipping with non color printed cardboard, just black print. You should pull the packaging tape. It won't decompose and you will just have to pick it up to throw away later.
ASK me how I know this!
I got a 3rd cutting of hay this last year, which means each bale is full of hay seeds bc the grasses went to seed before harvesting. Burdock is stubborn. I laid cardboard down last Fall over a patch and a fenceline that had 2025 burdock and leftover seeds, when my DD was helping me strip stalls, and we dumped on top of the cardboard.
I plan to repeat this under my other fencelines that have had burdock problems, too.
I know I have a lot going on and many things to fix around the property. One of them is my manger in the horse shelter. Wicked ponies broke 1/2 of it and I have been putting most of their hay outside on the ground All winter. There will be a lot of hay/grass growing where I fed them. Not a bad thing.
However, I will have to clean up my training area (55' x 65') bc it needs to be clay, or else they will slip in there under saddle. Good thing I have a tractor! I should be able to pull, then pick up, then move the decomposing hay, again full of hay seeds, to put on top of the cardboard and burdock/seeds.
Nothing is perfect. I expect better pastures this year.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

The university of Oregon has a product I use designed for weeds in stalk pastures. The directions to mix with the sprayer in my 15 gallon battery op sprayer hooks on the compact tractor . The system I use to spray the pastures is sufficient enough to eliminate burdock , tansy and other hard to eliminate weeds that are prone to hiding in grassy pastures and many weeds that are toxic to horses and cattle. The directions recommended that pastures sprayed are sectioned off for two weeks for stalk animals. Then I move on to the next section & on and on we go …. It took me three years of using this product twice a growing season to eliminate most weeds.

Of course weed seeds come in various ways to our pastures .The biggest culprit are the wind currents in winter storms that bring in mountains of weed seeds . And let’s not forget the birds and critters that help disperse weed seeds. Oh can we talk Himalayan wild blackberries that can walk across the pasture in one season. They create huge thorny brambles with thorns like swords slicing away and clinging onto anything that dares to walk by. They are the worst of all the pasture invaders in my neck of the woods.

I just put a new battery in my compact tractor and replaced a small fuel line the mice chewed a hole in . I also keep the pasture mowed weekly to inhibit weeds from taking over this time of year. The west pasture right now is mostly a pond at the moment due to the atmospheric river storm all last week. Many roads are washed out, trees down and many area are without power. Luckily no power outage here. Yet today the temps are supposed to be up to 67F .. this will help dry out the soggy soaked muddy landscape.

It’s always a constant war against weeds isn’t it. And the garden area is over grown with perennial weeds too. Haven’t sprayed the garden yet or pastures, it is to wet and temps are to low. But I do spray the garden area with a pet friendly herbicide. Right now it seems like there are more weeds than plants, surrounded by a few acres of soggy landscape and a bit of peace and quiet. The usual issue in spring, taking in the good , the bad and the ugly.
But I love it.