bee_pipes
03-07-2007, 02:58 AM
Found a most excellent book on composting:
http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html
The complete book is on the web. I have a hard copy because I'm an old dinosaur and don't like reading books on computers. It makes a convenient place to stash information - and lends itself to underlining, hilighting, dog-earing and notes in the margins.
Yesterday was our first harvest. We opened the bin and moved it to the garden. Some of the straw did not break down as much as I would have liked, but for a first effort I am satisfied. I can already see the second bin is doing better and reaching higher temperatures. We have three buckets we use to collect kitchen waste that are full now. They will go into the old bin and it will be topped off with litter from the chicken house, and allowed to season until next spring. The new bin, recently emptied, will be primed with the remainder of the chicken house litter and start receiving the new deposits from the kitchen.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/FirstCompostHarvest1sm.jpg
Good black compost
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/FirstCompostHarvest2sm.jpg
Loading into trailer and moving to garden in background. Center bin contains cover material - sawdust and straw. Bin on right is current, active bin.
We have two old coffee cans that we keep next to the coffee maker. All filters and grounds go into these cans until they are full - it's a convenience. When those cans are full, they get dumped into the bucket, next to the trash can in the kitchen. We have three such buckets, when all are full, they go to the compost bin and get washed. A local sawmill supplies the sawdust used in the buckets for cover material. They have a hollow that used to receive the exhaust of one of the mill buildings. It is already breaking down, and about 200 shovels full with a grain hog will fill the bed of a small Chevy S-10 - enough for a year of compost and use as soil amendment for trees and other plantings. Straw is used in the compost bin for additional cover material. Preferably from the chicken house floor. An old milk jug next to the bin is used for urinating when outside, adding nitrogen to the pile when new deposits are made - helps to discourage mice too. Things like egg shells are a waste in the compost - they don't break down very well, but they do add calcium to the soil. We throw them in as a convenience. We also collect them in the spring and use them for planting tomatoes - keeps down blossom end rot. Same with bones and corn cob. The bones add calcium and texture to compost. Corn cob broke down better than I thought, and holds moisture in the soil. Using this system has reduced our garbage by a significant amount. Everything goes in, with the exception of plastics, metals, glass, cleaners, etc.
The first bin supplied enough compost to fill the asparagus trenches and spread around on the bed that will be growing tomatoes this year. The current batch is bigger - will supply more for next year.
The straw concerns me. Thought I was following the suggestions adequately, but I think I'm going to turn the pile in the middle of the seasoning period. I can already see we need a pitchfork. We have a small silage fork, and it just isn't up to the job of loading the trailer. A grain hog does well in scooping up compost, but can't dig in like a fork or spade will.
We shall see what next year brings.
Regards,
Pat
http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html
The complete book is on the web. I have a hard copy because I'm an old dinosaur and don't like reading books on computers. It makes a convenient place to stash information - and lends itself to underlining, hilighting, dog-earing and notes in the margins.
Yesterday was our first harvest. We opened the bin and moved it to the garden. Some of the straw did not break down as much as I would have liked, but for a first effort I am satisfied. I can already see the second bin is doing better and reaching higher temperatures. We have three buckets we use to collect kitchen waste that are full now. They will go into the old bin and it will be topped off with litter from the chicken house, and allowed to season until next spring. The new bin, recently emptied, will be primed with the remainder of the chicken house litter and start receiving the new deposits from the kitchen.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/FirstCompostHarvest1sm.jpg
Good black compost
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/FirstCompostHarvest2sm.jpg
Loading into trailer and moving to garden in background. Center bin contains cover material - sawdust and straw. Bin on right is current, active bin.
We have two old coffee cans that we keep next to the coffee maker. All filters and grounds go into these cans until they are full - it's a convenience. When those cans are full, they get dumped into the bucket, next to the trash can in the kitchen. We have three such buckets, when all are full, they go to the compost bin and get washed. A local sawmill supplies the sawdust used in the buckets for cover material. They have a hollow that used to receive the exhaust of one of the mill buildings. It is already breaking down, and about 200 shovels full with a grain hog will fill the bed of a small Chevy S-10 - enough for a year of compost and use as soil amendment for trees and other plantings. Straw is used in the compost bin for additional cover material. Preferably from the chicken house floor. An old milk jug next to the bin is used for urinating when outside, adding nitrogen to the pile when new deposits are made - helps to discourage mice too. Things like egg shells are a waste in the compost - they don't break down very well, but they do add calcium to the soil. We throw them in as a convenience. We also collect them in the spring and use them for planting tomatoes - keeps down blossom end rot. Same with bones and corn cob. The bones add calcium and texture to compost. Corn cob broke down better than I thought, and holds moisture in the soil. Using this system has reduced our garbage by a significant amount. Everything goes in, with the exception of plastics, metals, glass, cleaners, etc.
The first bin supplied enough compost to fill the asparagus trenches and spread around on the bed that will be growing tomatoes this year. The current batch is bigger - will supply more for next year.
The straw concerns me. Thought I was following the suggestions adequately, but I think I'm going to turn the pile in the middle of the seasoning period. I can already see we need a pitchfork. We have a small silage fork, and it just isn't up to the job of loading the trailer. A grain hog does well in scooping up compost, but can't dig in like a fork or spade will.
We shall see what next year brings.
Regards,
Pat