Compost turned Fertilizer Recipe
*1-1000 wheelbarrows and trailers full of manure and urine soiled pine shavings and straw
*1-1000 handfuls of wasted hay
*1 gallon bucket full of weekly fruit and vegtable peels/cuttings and egg shells.
*Water in the form of rain, snow, dew and frost; as much Mother Nature will provide
*Sunshine. Again, Mother Nature
*Front loader/bucket to turn pile
1. Collect droppings and soiled bedding each morning from chickens, goats, sheep .
2. Weekly and annually, bring bedding collections to designated composting area.
3. Turn pile 2 times each month for 18-24 months.
4. Spread onto hay field.
That’s it! That is how the magic of manure happens and how we keep fertilizer costs low, implement a healthy manure management plan, kill pathogens and continue to build on healthy soils.
If you look closely, you can see steam coming from this composting pile (top right area). That is part of the thermophilic decomposition process, the heating up that happens inside this pile that helps create a nutrient rich and slow releasing fertilizer.
These pictures were taken on a day when it was 43 degrees outside.
This pile needs more turning/mixing and resting and will not be ready to spread for another 12 -18 months. Turning/Mixing is necessary to release some of the heat and also replenish oxygen within the pile.
In the past, we have also added a bag or two of Azomite to a pile while decomposing for added minerals, however, still not sure how beneficial that added cost was to the final product.
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