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

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

Hi ya'll.  My name is Tammy.  I've been on this list for several weeks
lurking and thought I would tackle this.  I'm not a master composter but I
have a little experience and a lot of book knowledge on the subject. Sorry
this is so long, but you had a lot of questions.  Tammy

<<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?>>

Moisture is a major part of the process.  The pile should be kept as damp as
a wrung out sponge at all times.  Some things just take longer to break down
than others, even a perfectly maintained pile could take months even a year
to be completely composted depending on the types of materials used and the
size they are when added to the pile and even depending on the outside temps
and other weather conditions.

<< 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?>>

You probably were smelling the urine which added to the compost pile will be
nitrogen and will probably heat the pile.

  
<<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?>>

First, adding a starter is completely unnecessary.  It won't hurt anything,
but there is really no need to spend the money.  Things break down naturally
without any help from us.  A lot of us think that composting is some
mystical scientific formula but it is not. Just go into the woods and dig
down a few inches under a tree.  All that beautiful compost became that
naturally without the proper nitrogen/carbon balance in most cases.  If you
really want to add a starter take a bucket of the stuff from under that tree
and dump it on the pile but the bacteria is already in the pile all by
itself.  A favorite saying on a compost list I'm on is "compost happens". 
The right conditions make it go faster, but it will happen in any condition,
it may just take longer.  Keep it covered, that will keep the heat and the
moisture in.

<<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?>>

Again, some things take longer than others.  You need heat and oxygen
(turning the pile)to make it happen a little more quickly.  You could keep
the slower things out and put them into a pile that you plan on taking a
while or you could add it to you existing pile and use a homemade sifter
(hardware cloth and a wood frame) to seperate the finished from unfinished. 
Throw the unfinished stuff back on the pile to work some more.

<<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)?>>

Again, don't worry so much about the science.  In the summer if you are
desperate for browns, leave your grass clippings on the lawn for a week or
until the next mowing.  They will turn into browns and with the new cutting
you are getting your greens in an almost perfect mix.  In the fall and
winter, food scraps, coffee grounds and the manures from your animals are
providing nitrogen.  The mix may not be perfect but it will happen anyway
and it is normal for compost to cool down considerably in the cooler months.

<<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).>> 

You can just let it sit and cover it with plastic or go ahead and spread it
where you want to use it.   

<<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? >>

I'm not much help here.  The only compost I've purchase has been mushroom
compost and it is great.  It is rather expensive but I think well worth it
if you don't have any finished compost of your own on. 





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