Simple Manure Composting

Horse biscuits. Cow pies. Llama beans. Nanny berries.

I see a trend! Maybe all these names are wishful thinking, but maybe not! Properly prepared, each of these really can be wonderful ingredients to some of your favorite recipes! Oh…come on…I haven’t lost it. I am simply talking compost, and using the manure pile to enrich your garden. It HAS to be a simple process, or quite frankly I am not going to do it. Here is how I handle turning manure into black gold. I pick a spot that is shady and a little damp, if available. For one year, that is where I dump everything from my animal pens when I clean them, generally dumping it to form a thick row. The following year, I begin a new row a few feet from the other row. When I need the richest, darkest, best and cheapest compost for my garden…I head for the oldest part of the compost pile! It is the same place I head or send others to when they need fishing worms, as they thrive in the pile! It’s that simple.

So…yes…I am turning my nanny berries into baked squash, cucumber relish, sweet corn, and strawberry rhubarb pie! And fried fish…

Composting

Composting - Outside

We decided to make our own compost bin using wooden pallets. Off to the local hardware store ~ they had an abundance they were HAPPY to let us have. Found a friend with a truck. Bribe friend with homemade bread. :-D Delivery of pallets complete. Wooden pallets can serve an array of needs (more on that in another blog).

We arranged our pallets in a square with no opening. Took baling wire and wired the corners together. The original idea was once the first bin was full, add three more pallets and build a row of composting bins in various stages of 'cooking.'

This is similar to ours:

You can throw a variety of items into the bin ~ most of our food scraps go to the chickens ~ a few items NOT to include are:

• Ashes from coal - or processed lumber;
• Colored paper;
• Diseased plants;
• Inorganic materials - metals, foil, plastic, glass;
• Meats, bones, fish, fats, dairy;
• Pet droppings; and
• NO chemicals

A few items you can include in your outdoor compost pile:

• Fruit waste/Vegetable stalks
• Straw
• Newspaper - shredded
• Garden waste
• Coffee grounds
• Leaves
• Corn stalks
• Pine needles
• Grass clippings (only NON-chemically treated)
• Manure
• Cardboard (shredded)

Obviously this is not an exhaustive list, but gives you an idea of some of the common items that can be used in a compost pile. This benefits the community by reducing the amount of solid waste in the landfills, helps provide habitats for micro-organisms and provides good mulch for future needs.