Free Compost
Easy
Each spring & fall Ms. K and I load up Mr. B's truck with shovels, pitchforks and bins and head to a nearby horse rescue farm. We go in the pursuit of hot steamy semi composted manure, good old fashioned poo! ing feature
The best combination for heating up compost is 3 parts dry (the leaves and paper) to 1 part wet (coffee grounds, kitchen scraps (no meat products), lawn clippings). See more examples of my composting here: http://bit.ly/1atVIWQ
The poo (manure) is free for the taking at the horse rescue farm, but we always leave a donation so that they may continue to care for abandoned and/ or abused horses. And poo they have! Mountains of it in fact!
My composting system. First in the bin for a few months, then into the tumbler to be sure it is completely broken down and mixed well. Now, some will say my way isn't the most efficient but it works for me.
I sift the compost over a wheelbarrow using a door grate.
This is the finished product.
An example of the results.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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We own a horse farm and have 21 stalls that get cleaned out daily. Trust me, that's a lot of manure! And it adds up fast! Many of the horse farms in our area charge around $25 for a load of manure but we give ours away for free by advertising it on our local Craigslist. Just yesterday a plant nursery came with a front loader and hauled 3 truckloads out! Our repeat customers swear our manure does wonderful things for their yards and gardens so I just put it to the test. I have the blackest thumb ever--can't even keep leaves on faux plants (no joke!) so when a few plants I recently bought were looking pretty sickly just a few days after being in my care, I decided to try replanting and adding some horse manure to the dirt. Nothing else--just dirt and some horse manure from the center of the pile where it naturally composts first due to heat buildup. Good grief, I could not believe the difference in my plants in just one short week! If your yards, gardens or plants need a little help, find yourself a horse farm! The stuff will make you look like a master gardener!
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We used to do the same thing - gave it away for free or when people we knew just needed a little, we would all go on a nice trail ride, taking lunches with us and visited them while we ate. I never would have thought to charge someone for it.
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