Building a compost pile!

MustangStudFarm · Dec 18, 2015

I have a wood chipper and a few things to compost. I dont really have much exp doing this, so feel free to input.
First thing, I have about 100gal of partially composted leaves...

Next, I have some rabbit bedding that I have been collecting for 3months.

Next, I have free range chickens. They like to perch in the same spot and leave GOBs of poo. I can also collect their feathers and egg shells.

Egg shell, baked&crushed

And finally... I have 24lbs of "Build-a-Soil" Craft blend.

http://buildasoil.com/products/buildasoil-craft-blend-nutrient-pack

Ingredients all Equal by Weight:

Acadian Kelp Meal
Ahimsa Neem/Karanja Cake
Alfalfa Meal
CalPhos
Camelina Meal
Crustacean Meal
Fish Meal
3x Fish Bone Meal
Soybean Meal
Sul-Po-Mag (Also Known as K-Mag or Langbeinite
Malted Barley Grains (3 Varieties)
Azomite
Basalt
Gypsum
Oyster Flour

Adding up all of the Approximate NPK values published for these products from the manufacturer and then dividing by the amount of parts we end up with a very nice NPK guesstimate of 3-4-2. Once we get the blend tested we will publish actual results.

MustangStudFarm · Dec 18, 2015

@greasemonkeymann How do I put this all together? A handful of each through the chipper?

Here is what I am working with

VTMi'kmaq · Dec 18, 2015

Lmao, homeowner chipper eh? Never used small ones like that. I'd build a three walled box area and stack all that shit into a pile there......then turn pile as needed with pitchfork

MustangStudFarm · Dec 18, 2015

I have a 8'x8' broken concrete slab.

Maybe I could fence it off on 3 sides?

Then, my neighbor is a manager at a store and he brought home a few plastic pallets. I am making a worm bin out of it! It is expandable, because he keeps bringing them home and I keep trading weed for them lol...

greasemonkeymann · Dec 18, 2015

MustangStudFarm said:
@greasemonkeymann How do I put this all together? A handful of each through the chipper Here is what I am working with

Damn, you got a gang of shit to put in there (literally)
I am going to do another compost pile this Saturday or sunday depending on if it rains, so I can post some pics of my method, but it's basicly like youd make a lasagna, using the leaves as the noodles...
I'd shred the leaves and make a pile, then manually add about 2 inches of shredded leaves as your base, then add a green input (alfalfa works great, so do grass clippings) then a layer of nutrients, a sprinkled layer, I don't measure anything.
just cover with about a 1/4 inch thick of nutrients, just barely covering.
then leaves, then greens, then amendments again.
Don't do the same nutrient twice without adding all the others.
what I did was this, leaves, alfalfa, leaves, fish meal, leaves, grass, fishbone meal, leaves, neem meal and greensand together, leaves, alfalfa, leaves, comfrey and kelp together, leaves, leftover guanos, leaves, alfalfa.
it's totally NOT a science... just make sure to get all your nutrients in, and don't forget to layer the nitrogen or green "input" after each layer of leaves, kelp meal actually will kick up the temps too.
Like a diet though, the more diverse your inputs are, the less likely you'll EVER need to add anything other than water... and some love & admiration.
i'll have a detailed write up on Monday if my shop isn't too busy (this time of year its usually dead)

greasemonkeymann · Dec 18, 2015

MustangStudFarm said:
I have a 8'x8' broken concrete slab.
View attachment 3567338
Maybe I could fence it off on 3 sides?

Then, my neighbor is a manager at a store and he brought home a few plastic pallets. I am making a worm bin out of it! It is expandable, because he keeps bringing them home and I keep trading weed for them lol...
View attachment 3567342

FUCK.
That's a PERFECT compost site man.
Perfect.
maybe drill some holes into it for air though
I am jealous

MustangStudFarm · Dec 18, 2015

VTMi'kmaq said:
Lmao, homeowner chipper eh? Never used small ones like that. I'd build a three walled box area and stack all that shit into a pile there......then turn pile as needed with pitchfork

Big stuff gets put in the fireplace. Really, just small stuff goes in. Oh, and rotten wood that crumbles easy.

MustangStudFarm · Dec 18, 2015

greasemonkeymann said:
Damn, you got a gang of shit to put in there (literally)
I am going to do another compost pile this Saturday or sunday depending on if it rains, so I can post some pics of my method, but it's basicly like youd make a lasagna, using the leaves as the noodles...
I'd shred the leaves and make a pile, then manually add about 2 inches of shredded leaves as your base, then add a green input (alfalfa works great, so do grass clippings) then a layer of nutrients, a sprinkled layer, I don't measure anything.
just cover with about a 1/4 inch thick of nutrients, just barely covering.
then leaves, then greens, then amendments again.
Don't do the same nutrient twice without adding all the others.
what I did was this, leaves, alfalfa, leaves, fish meal, leaves, grass, fishbone meal, leaves, neem meal and greensand together, leaves, alfalfa, leaves, comfrey and kelp together, leaves, leftover guanos, leaves, alfalfa.
it's totally NOT a science... just make sure to get all your nutrients in, and don't forget to layer the nitrogen or green "input" after each layer of leaves, kelp meal actually will kick up the temps too.
Like a diet though, the more diverse your inputs are, the less likely you'll EVER need to add anything other than water... and some love & admiration.
i'll have a detailed write up on Monday if my shop isn't too busy (this time of year its usually dead)

When I was researching Hugelkultur, they said that it would take 3yrs for the large wood to decompose and they suggested doing "lasagna layers" on top to supplement N, until it composted.

greasemonkeymann · Dec 18, 2015

MustangStudFarm said:
When I was researching Hugelkultur, they said that it would take 3yrs for the large wood to decompose and they suggested doing "lasagna layers" on top to supplement N, until it composted.

yes, exactly, it takes a LOT of nitrogen to break those down, honestly if it were me, I'd use urine as that input.
Cheap, easy, VERY effective.
Grass clippings work too, as well as any nutrient high in nitrogen.
If you are going to bury them anyways, i'd piss in a bucket, add four gallons of water to it, and sprinkle all the wood with it.
If it's not going to be buried, I would choose another method.... drying urine in the sun isn't the most pleasant smell...

ShLUbY · Dec 18, 2015

yeah man greasmonkey helped me out a lot. i followed his method and my compost is almost done. i'll have about 4-5 cubic feet of it by the time it is finished i'm thinking. i can't wait to grow with this stuff! i just transplanted some oregano and green onions into a mix i made with some to see how they do. basically all that i can still see in the compost is the stems of the leaves, and some wood chips. the rest just is looking brown. i think it's going to turn more black in color when its closer to done.

bizfactory · Dec 18, 2015

Damn, gonna be a hella nice pile, you have a really good start! I actually just got some heat cables for my trashcan compost bin. I love composting almost as much as growing. I'll go to the grocery and pick out meals that will give me max scrapes to compost lol

greasemonkeymann · Dec 18, 2015

ShLUbY said:
yeah man greasmonkey helped me out a lot. i followed his method and my compost is almost done. i'll have about 4-5 cubic feet of it by the time it is finished i'm thinking. i can't wait to grow with this stuff! i just transplanted some oregano and green onions into a mix i made with some to see how they do. basically all that i can still see in the compost is the stems of the leaves, and some wood chips. the rest just is looking brown. i think it's going to turn more black in color when its closer to done.

just wait till you try it man... I literally had my jaw drop, repeatedly on the results I had/have.
I wish I would have known about allll this 20 yrs ago.
So easy.
And yea, when it's down, it sorta looks like worm castings, only it's way lighter in density, almost like millions of tiny black sponges.
Greatest shit ever.
--funny story--
my ex girlfriend couldn't grow a damn thing, but somehow she could sprout and grow avocados like no other. Anyways she always heckled me cuz I can grow ANYTHING except avocados... I can get them to sprout, but they always die after planting... ???
anyways, my first compost pile I had evidently let a avocado pit in the pile, and it sprouted like a mofo, and now it's three feet high.
I'll be damned...
whats even funnier is that I still can't sprout and grow those fuckers...

MustangStudFarm · Dec 18, 2015

greasemonkeymann said:
yes, exactly, it takes a LOT of nitrogen to break those down, honestly if it were me, I'd use urine as that input.
Cheap, easy, VERY effective.
Grass clippings work too, as well as any nutrient high in nitrogen.
If you are going to bury them anyways, i'd piss in a bucket, add four gallons of water to it, and sprinkle all the wood with it.
If it's not going to be buried, I would choose another method.... drying urine in the sun isn't the most pleasant smell...

The rabbit bedding smells BADLY of urine. I bet it is cleaner than mine also lol. My wife said that the white stuff on the chicken poo is the urine.

My craft blend is mixed already, so I cant layer it like you said.

ShLUbY · Dec 18, 2015

MustangStudFarm said:
View attachment 3567405
The rabbit bedding smells BADLY of urine. I bet it is cleaner than mine also lol. My wife said that the white stuff on the chicken poo is the urine.

My craft blend is mixed already, so I cant layer it like you said.

that's ok man. i found with the nutrient layering if you go too thick that they will all clump together and break down much slower. you have the mix, it will work fine.

MustangStudFarm · Dec 18, 2015

Yeah, the rabbit bedding is a head turner. I dumped it into a better draining container, but it is all mushy and smells pretty bad!!

VTMi'kmaq · Dec 19, 2015

I'm jealous too man.....I really enjoy watching you guys go....even in 20 degree weather.....merry Christmas mustang and greasemonkeyman

MustangStudFarm · Dec 19, 2015

VTMi'kmaq said:
I'm jealous too man.....I really enjoy watching you guys go....even in 20 degree weather.....merry Christmas mustang and greasemonkeyman

This would be my 1st attempt at something like this, I just got a new camera and have been taking more pics lately... Like I said in the beginning, dont be afraid to ask questions because I probably wont know the answer, but someone else will lol. I might learn something also!

MustangStudFarm · Dec 20, 2015

@st0wandgrow The problem with using my rabbit bedding in my worm bin is that I does have a BAD urine smell, the compost can turn your head... I change their bedding once a week, I really have to lay the hay on thick to keep their feet dry.

greasemonkeymann · Dec 21, 2015

VTMi'kmaq said:
I'm jealous too man.....I really enjoy watching you guys go....even in 20 degree weather.....merry Christmas mustang and greasemonkeyman

merry christmas to you too my friend, have a safe and happy holiday

MustangStudFarm said:
@st0wandgrow The problem with using my rabbit bedding in my worm bin is that I does have a BAD urine smell, the compost can turn your head... I change their bedding once a week, I really have to lay the hay on thick to keep their feet dry.

I've never raised rabbits, but I would be ALL over using that hay as your nitrogen input for your compost pile, just layer that stinky stuff after the leaf-layer.
I strictly only use rotted vegies and fruits for my worms.
the rest goes in the compost pile

MustangStudFarm · Jan 2, 2016

greasemonkeymann said:
merry christmas to you too my friend, have a safe and happy holiday

I've never raised rabbits, but I would be ALL over using that hay as your nitrogen input for your compost pile, just layer that stinky stuff after the leaf-layer.
I strictly only use rotted vegies and fruits for my worms.
the rest goes in the compost pile

I thought that I was going to ditch this thread after you made yours, but I still have some questions.
My old soil is pretty bad, I am thinking about ditching it right away and start some Clackmas coots going in the mean time. I say that because "Build-a-soil" advertises a 2 week cook time!! That would be enough time to get me going almost right away.

I really think that I fucked up this soil and it is time to get rid of it now that I see how much easier and better it is than "Super-Soil". Here is a side by side of my old soil and Build-a-soil's Nutrient craft blend, not clackmas. Greasemonkey, I know that I have been talking about this company alot, but I really cannot go to a decent store that carries real organic type stuff. I can get any piece of hydro equip, but they really fall short on organic knowledge at that store. It has been my downfall for a few years also.

It dont look too bad, but I saw how my new soil is doing! These are 5th Element from Elemental seeds, heavy on the OG side. They are both clones from the same plant with about the same veg time ect... This one is about 4 weeks behind. Build a soil

Building a compost pile!

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