My compost piles

[Mjdtexan]

Here are some pictures of my compost piles. I turn them about once a month with my tractor. I dont know if I am doing it right. I have one pile for this coming spring and another pile for spring 2011. The 2011 pile will be really big. I compost horse manure, chicken manure, grass clippings, vegetable scraps, egg shells, and coffee grounds. I would like to do this better and am looking for suggestions. The greater portion of the piles are horse manure.

[dice]

Take a look at the pic in this thread:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=12325

(Easy way to keep things organized. Fresh stuff goes in one
bin, which gets turned into the second bin when full, and
so on. Last bin is what you pull compost out of to use.)

[Mjdtexan]

Originally Posted by dice

Take a look at the pic in this thread:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=12325

(Easy way to keep things organized. Fresh stuff goes in one
bin, which gets turned into the second bin when full, and
so on. Last bin is what you pull compost out of to use.)

That is pretty nice. I happen to have several pallats available too. I am going to have to give that one a try

[Barbee]

Mjd, I liked them too. Will you make yours big enough to where you can still use your tractor to turn them?
By the way, if you have access to straw or hay, it will really break that manure down quickly and increase the size of your pile.

[Mjdtexan]

Originally Posted by Barbee

Mjd, I liked them too. Will you make yours big enough to where you can still use your tractor to turn them?
By the way, if you have access to straw or hay, it will really break that manure down quickly and increase the size of your pile.

I am trying to work that out in my head. I dont have a front end loader, I have a rear bucket. I will think of something to keep it fairly easy to turn. I do have access to hay. I use it all the time in my chicken house. The girls (hens) love to push it around in their house and it makes cleanup easier.

I know you cant see it but there is plenty of hay in the piles now. The pile I use is always two years old. I wonder if I am waiting to long?

[Barbee]

I was thinking to make the back of the bins 2 pallets wide, which should give about 6 feet of width per bin. I believe I could get the bobcat in there easy enough with 6 feet.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Mjdtexan

I am trying to work that out in my head. I dont have a front end loader, I have a rear bucket. I will think of something to keep it fairly easy to turn. I do have access to hay. I use it all the time in my chicken house. The girls (hens) love to push it around in their house and it makes cleanup easier.

I know you cant see it but there is plenty of hay in the piles now. The pile I use is always two years old. I wonder if I am waiting to long?

I'd use the compost sooner. If you leave it out too long you loose too many of the nutrients through leaching out when it rains. I also like my compost to still have some texture to add to the garden soil and help with aeration and water holding. I've used well rotted manure as well as some just 6 months composted and found the soil packed worse with the older stuff.