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Re: [Hot Compost!] // Manures and other questions

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Great news about the *hot* compost, Kim. I can definitely understand your
exuberance. <g>

I have some questions on compost and manure too. We are new at growing some
chicken and rabbits (small amounts of both) and I'm finally getting some
manure to incorporate in my compost pile. In fact, I was out turning the
compost piles just yesterday and the day before -- and that's where my
questions come from.

The rabbit manure comes with a lot of alfalfa hay that has dropped through
the cages. A lot. When I turned the pile with the first batch of bunny
manure with alfalfa I noticed it hadn't decomposed hardly at all, some not
at all. I don't know if there was too much brown (the alfalfa), and not
enough green (the manure) -- or maybe I didn't keep the pile moist enough
)quite possible), because these sections were very, very dry. But even the
part that wasn't AS dry didn't decompose quite as quickly as I'd have
thought it would with the manure. Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?

I'll also say that a key reason I was turning the compost piles (other than
that they needed it) was that we had a new *harvest* of manure to add. The
new batch of bunny manure with alfalfa has a very strong ammonia smell,
which I presume is just their urine and not the smell of a too-rich
nitrogen mix, especially since there were  no signs of decompostion to the
new stuff. Right?

I'd especially like some help with this since I have a big pile of bunny
manure and alfalfa to yet put on the piles after I turn them (or start a
new one, probably). This time I'm adding a bit of compost starter after
several layers -- that's normally just bacteria, right?

On to chicken manure. Ours is mixed with pine shavings which decompose
verrrrrrry slooooooowly. ::sigh:: The chickens make the most mess under
their roost and we've now spread plastic underneath to capture more of the
manure and less of the pine. Any other suggestions for the existing compost
piles? Will compsot starter help speed up the decomposition of any of the
heavy pine shavings parts as I turn the old piles?

Two other questions. How do you folks manage  your compost ingredients? It
seems in the spring and summer Nature provides an abundane of green stuff,
and the brown is harder to come by, while in fall and winter, you're
overloaded with brown. Do you save leaves to intersperse with green in the
spring/summer? What do you do in fall/winter (other than bring in manure)?

Finally, what do ya'll  do to hold finished compost? I'm afraid to just let
it sit in a bin, because the rain might leach out the good stuff. Putting
it in plastic tubs, like I did earlier this year, covered with black leaf
bags, probably wasn't a good thing for what our Frank Teuton calls the
microherd and also the earthworms (which probably cooked in the summer sun). 

Okay, I guess I have one more question. If you buy compost from Home Depot
(or elsewhere) is it any good? Can it possibly have any live stuff in it?
Same question for Black Cow or other manures -- is it any good? How do they
produce it? They've GOT to sterilize it (probably in huge ovens or
soemthing) -- doesn't that destroy much of what you want from compost or
manure in the first place? If I don't have enough manure from my chickens
and rabbits, will the purchased manure serve? 

Belatedly, and off THIS topic, I wanted to thank all those who contributed
to my OT question on how to overwinter my beloved geraniums. I finally
opted for either covering them if a light frost is expected and hauling
them into the garage otherwise. Next year maybe I'll be braver and try the
bare root method.

Patricia
Zone 7b, with temps in the 70s yesterday, 50s today, and down to freezing
or less tonight.


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