#compost pile

[fragilescales]

Compost Pile Quarterly - Issue 1

Compost Pile Quarterly is a four-times-yearly zine of art. Featuring a rotating, variable selection of artists, photographers, designers, an

hi everyone!! I'm in an art collective organized by @foxfaer, and we released a physical zine! for $10 you can see some great indie art, and profits go to a trans relocation support fund 🤍🩷 check it out above!

[sayhowdycountrycritters]

Farm dogs, Atlas & Ullr.

[urban-homesteading]

How to Compost Chicken Manure in 18 Days

Composting the deep litter from your chicken house doesn't need to take months. Here's how to compost chicken manure in just 18 days!

1. The materials to be composted must be chopped fairly small. 1/2 to 11/2 inches in diameter is ideal.

2. The Carbon to Nitrogen ratio must be correct. 30 parts Carbon to 1 part Nitrogen is the goal. (If you're correctly doing the deep litter method, you've been adding shavings all winter, so the contents of your chicken house floor should contain a LOT of "brown" material-the shavings or straw-and should not be a big caked pile of manure.)

3. Moisture content of the pile must remain around 50%. So not soggy, soppy wet, but definitely not dry either.

4. To create the necessary heat, a minimum mass is required. Dr. Raabe's paper specifies a pile of at least 36x36x36, and he states that if the pile is under 32", this method will not work. I thought this quote was interesting: "High temperatures favor the microorganisms which are the most rapid decomposers; these microorganisms function at about 160 degrees (F) and a good pile will maintain itself at about that temperature."

5. The pile needs to be turned to prevent overheating, and allow for aeration. While many of the resources I've seen about Berkeley-method composting suggest waiting four days after building the pile, then turning it every other day, the author actually suggests turning daily for the most rapid completion of the composting process.

6. Don't keep adding to it! While we might be used to adding to our compost piles daily, it's important not to add to add to this one, since the added materials will be starting the decomposition process from scratch. You want the whole pile to end up as a nice finished product all at one time.

7. If done correctly, your pile will reach high temperatures within 48 hours. If you can reach into the pile two days after building it, and it's not uncomfortably not, then something is off. It's either too wet, too dry, or the pile doesn't contain enough nitrogen ("green" materials). If it's too wet, you can rake it out to dry, then pull the pile back together. If it's too dry, add some water. And if you've realized you erred on the side of too many brown materials, then adding some grass clippings or manure can balance things out and kick the process into gear.

8. The pile shouldn't smell bad. It should be earthy. If you smell ammonia, that's a sign that the pile is too high in nitrogen. It's recommended to add some sawdust to help balance out the C:N ratio. If a pile is too high in nitrogen, it can "burn out" too quickly, before all the materials are thoroughly composted.

[fungusqueen]

I was watering my plants this morning and went to spray down the compost pile...and I found Yellow Oyster mushrooms from my spent oyster mushroom block FRUITING once again out of my compost! It looks like the oyster mushroom mycelium is starting to colonize and eat leaves in the compost so I spread more of the myceliated leaves throughout the pile and surrounded them with additional cardboard pieces. I’m so happy they’re continuing their life cycle! (Also: I keep that weird cage on top of the pile because there’s a hummingbird that likes to perch on it while eating compost flies)

[ryanscabinlife]

Compost pile number 1 is looking great. I turned it for the second time today and it’s already starting to look good. These are our kitchen scraps throughout the fall and winter with dried leaves from the ground I’ve collected in the fall and cardboard boxes from our move. I find this task of turning the compost relaxing and therapeutic, not to mention a pretty decent workout.

2-May-2023

[lionfloss]

by @trentdavisbailey

[homesteadsurvival]

If you are thinking of starting a compost pile this article will tell you compost pile mistakes to avoid. Anybody who has maintained a garden for a while or even starting just now, knows about the importance of compost. It is a common belief that it is not difficult to prepare compost for a garden […] The post Compost Pile Mistakes To Avoid appeared first on The Homestead Survival .

[longfurby-ulysses]

Longboarded to my parents house yesterday to visit my sister and all our animals. Since I moved out, my cat allergy has gotten 100x worse, so I'm like pretty much dying right now in bed and I've had 2 hours of sleep (they have 3 cats). But have some pictures of my sister's dog Obie, my mom's chickens Tigerlily, Skipper, and Mushy, and some blossoms from their apple trees