First time composter - need help

[Paul Eberly]

hey everyone. I'm from east TN and the nights are still cold (not sure if that matters). I am trying my hand at compost for the first time

I have chickens and I use primarily straw in their bedding. It rained do much , that it became stinky and soggy, so I cleaned it out and I am hoping to compost it

The pile is
Straw
Chicken / duck manure
Some pine shavings
Zeolite (sweet pdz)
Maybe some feathers

Right now I've got a decent sized pile. I turn it about every third or 4th day. It's still pretty wet in the middle every time I turn it.

My question is, will this ingredient list compost? I am wanting to get this going or at least semi composted by mid April so I can use in my garden. Thanks for the help!

I've included two pictures, one is a close up of the "wetish" material.

 

[Beth_B]

I think that's a great mix, although I'd be careful of too much pine in there. You can also save kitchen waste (veg only) and coffee grounds to toss in.

 

[marlingardener]

Paul, welcome to the forum!
We keep chickens also, and their manure, if not fresh, is great for the compost pile and eventually the gardens. We use pine shavings in the nest boxes, and I throw that in the pile, along with vegetable parings that the chickens won't eat, weeds, and garden trimmings. Just don't add any more chicken or duck manure because it will still be pretty potent by April.
Compost works faster in warm weather, but you ought to have usable compost by April. It will continue to break down in the garden. Wonderful stuff, compost!

 

[Paul Eberly]

Ok awesome. I'll get some more pictures of it when I get home. It's all basically old (almost a year) straw and chicken manure that I kept building up layer by layer.

Has anyone ever tried compost accelerators? Are they worth anything or only good for taking your money?

 

[ApidAdi]

Has anyone ever tried compost accelerators? Are they worth anything or only good for taking your money?

Save your money, Paul. Compost isn't a human invention. Leaves fall from trees, pile up, and compost all on their own - and have done for millions of years with no help at all. All the bacteria, fungus, worms, centipedes and whatever else that you need are floating around in your garden already. There isn't a chemical on earth that will make fungus move any faster than it wants to. If you want to speed up the process, turn your heap on a regular basis. Right now I'm turning mine twice a week - which I know is excessive, I just want to get my compost quickly because I just put up some new plots and want to get compost on the ground ASAP. Turning your heap will get oxygen to the middle of the pile to keep your microbes munching.

If you want to know if your compost is ready, dig around in it and notice a few things: is it warm or cool relative to the ambient temperature? Are there worms? Does it smell funky? Compost that's done cooking will be cool, smell earthy, and will have worms. Before it's done it's a little too warm for worms to be comfortable.

My question is, will this ingredient list compost?

Just about anything will compost eventually. A good rule of thumb for making up a compost pile is 25 to 30 parts brown (this is your carbon, the organic material your nutrients will bind to. This is fallen leaves, wood chips, that sort of thing) to 1 part green (this is your nitrogen. This'll be grass clippings, kitchen scraps, manure, etc.) If your B:G ratio is too low (lots of nitrogen) you'll lose some of those nutrients as microbe farts: IOW, you'll have a stinky pile.

I had to look up what Zeolite was. I'm assuming you use it to freshen up your chicken coop? Apparently it's a good, slow releasing source of potassium! So a good soil amendment if your garden is potassium deficient.

Oh! And welcome to the forum!

 

[MaryMary]

Has anyone ever tried compost accelerators? Are they worth anything or only good for taking your money?

For a good accelerator, you can always pee on it. If I was going to spend money on any kind of compost accelerator, it would be a pound of compost worms. You'll get worms in there anyway, but a pound of worms will "process" 3.5 pounds of compost every week, and give you wonderful worm castings.



Welcome to the forum!

 

[Paul Eberly]

I am also turning mine twice a week. I guess when I think of compost, I think of 100% earth and nothing else (my vision of probably some what skewed)

This pile has only been sitting for the better part of 2 weeks, but its been in my chicken stall for almost a year. The bottom of it was already black dirt, and i tried to scoop as much as that as I could because I figured it would help speed up the break down of everything else.

The zeolite is actually a horse stall cleaner. It will eat ammonia and release nitrogen. I actually use it in a dropping pan for my birds at night, and its very easy to clean up and has great benefits to a garden.

Other than smell, how will I know if my ratio is off. If I had to guess, I would assume I have way to much browns (almost entire pile is composed of straw)

Thank you for all the welcomes!

 

[Paul Eberly]

For a good accelerator, you can always pee on it. If I was going to spend money on any kind of compost accelerator, it would be a pound of compost worms. You'll get worms in there anyway, but a pound of worms will "process" 3.5 pounds of compost every week, and give you wonderful worm castings.



Welcome to the forum!

You can pee on it? Does that really help? And what exactly are composting worms, compared to red worms or any other type worm?

 

[MaryMary]

Red worms, composting worms, red wigglers, all pretty much the same kind of worm.

Oh yes, pee is great for compost. Male urine even better!

Are there worms? Does it smell funky? Compost that's done cooking will be cool, smell earthy, and will have worms. Before it's done it's a little too warm for worms to be comfortable.

I'd imagine the outer edges of that pile are attracting worms already. (That is a nice sized pile of compost. Makes me wish for more yard!) Worms can handle up to 85°, and will find themselves a spot in there. I compost in a big garbage can with holes in the bottom, and the worms found it. I assume when I make it too hot, or the winter makes it too cold, they just go out the way they came!

Just about anything will compost eventually. A good rule of thumb for making up a compost pile is 25 to 30 parts brown (this is your carbon, the organic material your nutrients will bind to. This is fallen leaves, wood chips, that sort of thing)

I use a utility knife and cut corrugated cardboard into strips about 2 by 4" and put it in my compost bin. It will break down eventually, but the worms will also use it as a nursery and lay their eggs in there. Then, when you harvest your compost, you just move all intact pieces of cardboard back to the compost, and you've provided the next generation of worms for your compost!

 

[MaryMary]

Other than smell, how will I know if my ratio is off. If I had to guess, I would assume I have way to much browns (almost entire pile is composed of straw)

Your best way of being sure is to get a pocket thermometer, and measure the temperature at different spots. Try to keep the temperature between 130-150°F. You don't want it to get above 160°F, it will kill the beneficial microbes.

Check it about 3 days after you've turned it. If it is too cold, you'll need to add greens. If it's too hot, you need to add more browns. Your pee is green.



(Never thought I'd say that to an internet stranger! )

 

[marlingardener]

There are advantages to adding human urine to a compost pile--urea is beneficial as long as the neighbors don't see you adding it. If you are taking any medications, even allergy pills, you have to decide if you want to have the remnant of the medications in your compost. Personally, I don't encourage my husband or workmen here on the farm to feel free to add to my compost. Roofers especially seem to be a water-logged bunch.
The pocket thermometer is very handy, not only for the compost pile, but also for determining soil temperature for planting. Peppers and tomatoes like warm soil, carrots don't. I have a cheap kitchen probe thermometer in my gardening bag, and use it to see if the garden soil is in the prime temperature range for planting.
Don't overthink the compost ratios--Mother Nature has a way of evening things out. Just add goodies, toss occasionally, and enjoy the consequences!

 

[Paul Eberly]

Thanks for all the hell! I kicked open a spot on the compost to check the temp. It didn't seem hot but I stirred it last night.

The pile was also damp in the middle (maybe a little too wet but no odor) and was dry on the top.

I included some more pictures! Thanks for lol the help! First pic is the outside of pile, 2nd is the hole I kicked

 

[roadrunner]

Thanks for all the hell! I kicked open a spot on the compost to check the temp. It didn't seem hot but I stirred it last night.

The pile was also damp in the middle (maybe a little too wet but no odor) and was dry on the top.

I included some more pictures! Thanks for lol the help! First pic is the outside of pile, 2nd is the hole I kicked

To have a hot pile you need at least 3 cubic feet of material, but larger would be preferred. Many people believe you need a hot pile to create the 'best' compost or to destroy seeds/pathogens, but I disagree. Personally, I've never created a hot pile and my compost is just fine...

http://www.almanac.com/content/how-compost-hot-and-cold-methods

Excerpt:

HOT, OR ACTIVE COMPOSTING

The quickest way to produce rich garden humus is to create a hot, or active, compost pile. It is called “hot” because it can reach an internal temperature of 160°F (140°F is best) and “active” because it destroys, essentially by cooking, weed seeds and disease-causing organisms. The size of the pile, the ingredients, and their arrangements in layers are key to reaching that desired outcome.

Size: A hot compost pile should be a 3-foot cube, at minimum; a 4-foot cube is preferred. The pile will shrink as the ingredients decompose.

 

[ApidAdi]

To have a hot pile you need at least 3 cubic feet of material, but larger would be preferred. Many people believe you need a hot pile to create the 'best' compost or to destroy seeds/pathogens, but I disagree. Personally, I've never created a hot pile and my compost is just fine...

http://www.almanac.com/content/how-compost-hot-and-cold-methods

Excerpt:

HOT, OR ACTIVE COMPOSTING

The quickest way to produce rich garden humus is to create a hot, or active, compost pile. It is called “hot” because it can reach an internal temperature of 160°F (140°F is best) and “active” because it destroys, essentially by cooking, weed seeds and disease-causing organisms. The size of the pile, the ingredients, and their arrangements in layers are key to reaching that desired outcome.

Size: A hot compost pile should be a 3-foot cube, at minimum; a 4-foot cube is preferred. The pile will shrink as the ingredients decompose.

True! My compost piles are both at around 90°, and they're just fine. I have them in 55 gallon totes with holes drilled in the sides and bottom. Not really big enough to get hot, but I still get compost.

 

[Paul Eberly]

So it does not have to get hot to turn into dirt. That's good, I've probably got a very large misconception about compost lol!

Thanks for all the help, and if anyone needs any and is in eastern TN feel free to come help me clean my chicken stall!!!