Compost piles

[Rebecca]

I've started to use the two compost piles that have been behind my house for 5 years. Actually, I've piled leaves on them in the past, but never used them to compost kitchen waste. Now I have a few chickens and want to use the manure as compost in the garden. Any tips for how to creat a successful compost pile? How much sun does it need? Thanks so much!

[FarmerAmber]

How to make compost. That's a big question. It seems like there are 2 theories - #1: The science method where you carefully layer appropriate amounts of brown and green matter in a pile roughly 1 cubic yard in size, then turn the whole thing over a few times to keep it "hot. #2: Throw whatever you have into a pile and let is sit for a year or so. Both methods create dirt of a high quality. The science method is faster, but also more work. The throw it in a pile method is much easier, but does take quite a while. I use both. We use #1 for grass clippings with some leaves or hay mixed in for the brown matter. We use #2 for plants from the garden, bulk leaves, and whatever else that will eventually turn into dirt. We actually use a worm bin for our kitchen scraps, but they could go in either method. Chicken manure is very "green" despite looking like a "brown" and it will take a fair amount of hay or straw to balance it out using method #1.

There are lots of great resources online for #1 and I would encourage you to read them. They are far more complete than anything I can write. I hope this helps!

-FarmerAmber

[Rebecca]

Thanks, Amber. I've got a hunch #2 will be the most popular method around here...especially with the chicken manure...I want to make sure it won't burn the garden.

[Matt Mayer]

Rebecca-

I just piled the stuff up and it works just fine. I try to turn it once or twice a season but sometimes don't. Hit Groovy Green for some great compost info. Also, chopping up kitchen waste small and then dumping it straight into a hole dug in the garden works really well as well.

Good luck!
Matt