Most of my yard waste goes into the compost bin, with the exception of tree limbs (saved for rocket stove) and eucalyptus leaves. I even got brave this year and started adding bits and pieces that fall from my prickly pears, although I let those sit in a pile separately for months first to break down the spiny glochids. This pile includes cut up leaves from a dead yucca stalk, mesquite beans, and dried prickly pear fruit and pads.
When I sweep outside, all the sweepings go into the compost.There are some non-local ingredients, too, that are composted rather than thrown away or wasted.
The initial soil for the container garden included peat moss and coconut coir. Those are composted along with the roots of past season plants and will be (and already have been) used in the next round of container gardening.When I get low on compostable materials, I pick up used coffee grounds from Starbucks and hay from broken bales from the feed store. Some of the paper and cardboard that makes its way into my home is added to the compost supplies rather than the recycling bin, especially if I'm low on "brown" carbon materials.
Animal manure is great for compost, but is not always available nearby. To get goat manure requires driving 30 minutes to the rural areas surrounding the city. Cow, chicken, and sheep manure are also available outside of town. Horse manure is readily available in town but for some reason I am resistant to using it. Perhaps it is because of our poor luck with using the free composted horse manure from the food bank when we first started gardening. I also worry about what people may be doing to keep the flies down; I don't want to add too many chemicals into my mix.
Now, however, I have found a source for local chicken poop. Really local - as in 1/3 of a mile away! I discovered someone in our neighborhood has chickens and was eager to get rid of surplus manure. She composts quite a bit herself but does not have a large garden going yet so she is happy to share. This week I hauled home four big landscaping bags full of used hay bedding filled with chicken droppings. The dogs are enjoying the curious new sniffs in their yard and the compost bin is getting an infusion of hot poop.Of course, if one wanted to nitpick, they'd point out that the hay bedding from the chicken coop is probably not grown locally. I haven't asked the staff at the feed store where their hay and straw is grown, but I'll try to remember to do that the next time I go there. With a larger piece of property, we could grow some of our own grains and use the stalks for chicken bedding, but that's not likely to be an option.
Using what I have on the property as well as what I can obtain nearby is an easy and cheap way to make compost and improve my soil. What local materials go into your compost pile?
12 comments:
Well I wouldn't fret much if you are getting the hay for free. Better than watching it go in some dumpster!
Of course in my compost bin (the one that i compost with) Goes everyhting you could imagine. I too save small branches for my various stoves and fire pits around this dump, I just save a 5 gallon bucket of Plum tree twigs for BBQ'ing!!! I can taste that pork already... sorry, vegan girl... I had to salivate!!!
Lucky you! I've got most of the sources around me, except for the chicken poop. Still looking. And, just got some black gold (7-yr old horse manure) given to me. Wonderful stuff. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with Rob- matters less whether the hay is local, it's better than it going in the trash!
In the summer my compost bin gets lots of local stuff- trimmings from vegetables from the farmers market, mostly. And eggshells from local eggs. Since I live in an apartment I'm often hard up for brown materials; this fall I gathered up some leaves from the apartment complex and used those- I don't think they spray the trees with anything.
I have a question that I've always wanted to ask about composting: what kinds of animal poop can go into composting?
From what I've read cat and dog poop can't be used in it, is that so why not?
I just thought someone here would know.
peace, shamba
We compost everything that isn't savable to give to the chickens, the garden waste, the weed trimmings, I bring coffee grounds home, and we have manure from two sources: chickens and rabbits.
I hadn't thought of getting the stuff from broken bales of hay, I'll have to go to my local feed store and ask about that. I need more anyway for mulch; I'm losing too much water to the blasted heat!
I read recently that if you take 10 pounds of produce out of the garden you need to put 10 pounds of compost back in, in order to maintain fertility. Without some added inputs, at least for the next few years (garden soil and mulch) I think I will have a hard time doing that, let alone increase fertility!
Susan
Rob - I'm looking forward to when we have our own place and can plant more fruit trees. Pruned branches will be useful...but not for BBQing pork. Eggplant maybe, but not little piggies. ;-)
Sharlene - One way to possibly track down chicken poop is to find people who sell local eggs. Check the farmer's markets. Then ask those folks if they have surplus manure.
Adrienne - Eggshells from the few our dogs get also go in the compost, although I should save them to grind up in biscuits for them. (Good calcium source for doggies.) For more leaves, maybe you could snag a bag or two put out by people in houses? I've often considered asking folks with pine trees in their yard if I can rake up the needles for my compost. Heck, it'd be free yard work for them. LOL
Shamba - manure from herbivorous animals is appropriate for compost. This includes horse, cow, goat, sheep, and chicken (and other poultry) in the livestock group. If you can get it, "zoo doo" from elephants and other large herbivores could go in your compost.
The droppings from omnivorous and carnivorous animals are not safe for compost as they can contain pathogens that will not be killed by the composting process. So, avoid dog and cat feces. To get rid of dog droppings without adding to the garbage, however, you can make a mini-septic tank for them. Doggie Dooleys are sold in the pet stores but you can make one yourself.
Susan - the feed store here charges 50 cents to fill an empty feed bag with broken hay or straw. They supply the bag and shovel; you supply the 2 bits and labor. :)
My problem right now is lack of space to compost. I've got a back-up of materials but not enough bins. We don't want to build our own out of pallets until we've got our own place but I could easily create a HUGE compost pile. I can get as much goat and chicken manure, and horse if I wanted it, as I'm willing to rake up and haul. I can load up on coffee grounds from Starbucks, although more people are figuring out that one. I could shred all our cardboard instead of recycling any of it.
Nope, space is my problem, not access to materials!
Oh, forgot to mention, I also once brought home tons of banana and orange peels from working an aid station at a bike race. I'm sure I could volunteer for all the local bike and running races if I wanted to get more of that. LOL!
You're right to be wary of horse poop. The majority of horses are treated with a de-wormer, which, you guessed it, kills all worms, including the ones in your soil. I was a lucky girl the day I discovered a source of horse manure from horses that were only given herbs. And, the lady is like a 7 minute drive from my house. Double score!
And Chile, if space is a problem, sheet composting where you plan to use it works really well. That's all I do anymore.
Wendy - there's just one problem with sheet-composting - I wouldn't get to be hands-on with the compost. Playing with the compost, at all stages, is truly one of my favorite things to do. Yeah, I know; I'm weird. But sinking my arms elbow-deep in finished compost is just a gas!
Have you ever seen the video that used to be on the Path to Freedom site (may still be there somewhere) that features the compost guy? He's got a HUGE pile of compost - so much that in the early days it got hot enough to start smokin'. I wanna be him. I wanna be the Compost Queen. All I have to do now is win the lottery so I can buy the acreage to do it. ;-)
You can actually safely compost the manure from carnivorous and omnivorous beings IF you can get your compost pile hot enough. The problem is that most people are cold composting and it never reaches the proper heat to break down those pathogens you're talking about.
Since I cold compost I only use my chicken manure. It's one of the reasons, aside from the eggs, that I love keeping hens.
Where you are, Chile, acidic soil is not probably an issue but here where I live calcium is leeched form the soil every year by all the water so adding chicken eggshells to the compost is a great natural way to add it back.
Why not compost eucalyptus leaves? Just askin'. Those trees are few and far between in East Central Texas. My folks in the Phoenix area have many, though.
Angelina - I suspected you could but don't recommend it since, as you say, most people do not compost with a high enough temperature.
Our soil is very basic so we need to add acidity. :)
Waittress from Mensa - I'd heard that it was bad to add them to the compost due to their high levels of aromatic oils and tendency to be toxic to other plants. However, this indicates that there are fine for compost.
Post a Comment