Coffee anyone ?

[fuzzi]

You all are great enablers, even down to the compost. I guess there's the compost purists and then the practical composters. Now you all have me leaning to actually giving it a shot. Now to find a place where I can set it up. Yeah - even a pile of "dirt" needs to find a place, not because I'm picky - goodness knows I'm far from that - but to find a level enough tractor accessible spot. Hills are pretty, until you try to use them.

Tractor?

You planning on a huge compost pile?

I'd start smaller for your initial attempt. It should be at least 3' in diameter, 3'-5' tall. I've used 4' tall welded wire fence, 10' long, with the opposite ends attached in a cylinder shape. Use a dirt/grass base, keep it simple. Put in browns (shredded leaves type stuff), and greens (clippings, veg/fruit scraps) alternately in layers, spraying but not soaking with water as you build. Leave a slight depression in the middle of the top layer. Do not add fats, bones, any meat as that will attract critters. After about a week unhook the fencing cylinder and set it up again next to the pile. Fork the pile back into the cylinder, wetting it if it seems dry. Repeat weekly. It might amaze you how quickly most of the pile will decompose. Bugs are good, don't worry about any you see, most like millipedes are assisting.

ETA: my first compost bin was made from a 10' length of snow/beach fencing. It worked great.

 

[fuzzi]

We're getting soaked, big time. We needed it, but not all at once!

 

[farmerjan]

We're getting soaked, big time. We needed it, but not all at once!
View attachment 117978

I'm in the yellows and orange on the western side of the state... to the left and above the VA letters in gray... Been quite the soaking, have not gone out to check the rain gauge yet... but it comes in small waves of steady and then let up to lighter... TICKLED PINK to get this.

 

[Mini Horses]

Wet here, too. More coming....my grass loves it. Goats not so much. Glad I mowed yard Sunday!

One section of hay field across street is now past prime. It'll be reseeding.

 

[SageHill]

Tractor?

You planning on a huge compost pile?

I'd start smaller for your initial attempt. It should be at least 3' in diameter, 3'-5' tall. I've used 4' tall welded wire fence, 10' long, with the opposite ends attached in a cylinder shape. Use a dirt/grass base, keep it simple. Put in browns (shredded leaves type stuff), and greens (clippings, veg/fruit scraps) alternately in layers, spraying but not soaking with water as you build. Leave a slight depression in the middle of the top layer. Do not add fats, bones, any meat as that will attract critters. After about a week unhook the fencing cylinder and set it up again next to the pile. Fork the pile back into the cylinder, wetting it if it seems dry. Repeat weekly. It might amaze you how quickly most of the pile will decompose. Bugs are good, don't worry about any you see, most like millipedes are assisting.

ETA: my first compost bin was made from a 10' length of snow/beach fencing. It worked great.
View attachment 117979

Ah -- old style snow fencing!! I like that idea.
Yesterday I figured out that I get 38-40 cubic feet of green (manure+bedding pine shavings (they said at the presentation that would be considered green) a week. Basically 3+ "green bins". That would overflow a 3x3x3 every week. . As for anything from the vegie gardens and house that all goes to the chickens. I've got to get this all figured out in my head before I try it. Otherwise it will be half a$$ed.
They also said that if what you're feeding has been treated with herbicides that could effect the compost and make it not good for gardening as the herbicide could come through in the compost. And one should test it by planting radish and tomato seeds in the finished compost. And wormers and meds come through as well (not that I use a lot of it or even often).
Are they making it more complicated than it should be??

 

[fuzzi]

Wet here, too. More coming....my grass loves it. Goats not so much. Glad I mowed yard Sunday!

One section of hay field across street is now past prime. It'll be reseeding.

Knowing that heavy rain was forecast I pushed hard on Saturday to mow as much of the yard as I could. Got the ditch by the road done, the weediest parts of the front yard, around the gardens and coops in the back.

It looked SO much better.

 

[fuzzi]

Ah -- old style snow fencing!! I like that idea.
Yesterday I figured out that I get 38-40 cubic feet of green (manure+bedding pine shavings (they said at the presentation that would be considered green) a week. Basically 3+ "green bins". That would overflow a 3x3x3 every week. . As for anything from the vegie gardens and house that all goes to the chickens. I've got to get this all figured out in my head before I try it. Otherwise it will be half a$$ed.
They also said that if what you're feeding has been treated with herbicides that could effect the compost and make it not good for gardening as the herbicide could come through in the compost. And one should test it by planting radish and tomato seeds in the finished compost. And wormers and meds come through as well (not that I use a lot of it or even often).
Are they making it more complicated than it should be??

Yep. Overthinking. IMO.

 

[fuzzi]

My main compost pile is actually this:

A Mantis double barrel composter. We bought it used, from a friend, about 20 years ago. Still working

Not my photo, snagged from the web.

 

[Mini Horses]

Compost -- the herbicides in a lot of hay DOES create problems in you veg garden. Something no one thought of or considered in years past. Sometimes because it wasn't even thought to be a problem -- you don't know what's been used & how long it lasted. That is until "someone" tested after the disaster had happened. So, that part isn't overthinking. IMO it's more of a save your butt confession.

Prob the dewormer meds aren't such an issue, after all it is people meds. Even wheat straw is a concern -- it's sprayed to kill green before harvest now. Didn't have all this when it was "a little house on the prairie".

 

[CLSranch]

that would be considered green) a week. Basically 3+ "green bins". That would overflow a 3x3x3 every week.

Letting it set longer and it getting hotter helps with that.

Are they making it more complicated than it should be??

Yep,

Another option that I'm looking into is a small manure spreader. Put what you want for the garden in your compost pile, put the rest in the spreader that'll pull behind a 4-wheeler/atv and drive the pasture. Spread thin you don't really have to worry about it composting 1st. From where I tie the horses and the pen, I could just drive it around after it gets full. Shavings reduce the affects of strong nitrogen and provide the other nutrients soil needs. The "horse pen" is currently closed from being so muddy and full of what the other pasture would love to have on it. The wheel barrow effect isn't enough and it's a lot to spread it. 1st I need to fix the 4-wheeler and other costly things before buying a spreader.
I also like the idea of it spread thin across low grazed areas to provide it "shade" in the summer which half of the summer pasture needs or cut down to 2 hours of grazing a day all year.