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

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

Dear Tammy,

I started composting this year. I built a new composter to go with the two other composters already assembled and working in the back yard of my new (30 year old) home. It gets so hot I can't put my hand in for any length of time. And I loaded two of them for the
spring here. sigh... lol!

Have a great day,
bill m.


Tammy Grooms wrote:

> 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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