Compost pile question
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if you want to compost, it doesn’t always involve a pile. I splurged on a smaller composter called a back door model. There are instructions on the net how to construct your own composter. You will need a drill, and a street style 30 gallon garbage can...
Hi Lisa - We were in the same place last year, questioning if it would work for us. This is the best composting 101 article to check out. Good luck! Hugs, Holly
https://pinkfortitude.com/composting/
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/basics/compost-smells-bad.htm
Poop and compost aren’t the same thing, although they have similar uses. Chicken manure is nitrogen rich and is great for gardens, but it can have an overwhelming odor until you get used to it. It’s often mixed with hay or dirt because it is very rich. But it can really enrich a garden spot. It’s sold in bags like any other fertilizer. Bigger farms often get fresh manure from a chicken or other animal farm.
A compost heap is “grown” over time. You don’t keep it near your house, but it still has to convenient. The plastic or metal containers you can buy speeds the production by keeping the natural heat enclosed and keeps the mess and smell more enclosed. But it’s still going to smell like rotting leaves. But a proper compost heap should be turned over with a rake and shovel frequently. Hence, the compost barrels on a spinner, to do the turning for you. Turning by hand or machine lifts the leaves and household garbage and exposes it to oxygen, but the heat of the pile is needed to break down the compost so it’s nutrients can be released from the paper, leaves, vegetables, fruit, seeds, and other things from your kitchen. Cooked food has very few nutrients left, but it will attract bugs and other critters who digest the stuff, immediately poop it, and leave more of the nutrients behind. And bugs die and become part of the heap. Keeping the heap turning helps cut down on the odor by dispersing the gases produced by dying matter. Compost can be used as fertilizer for gardens and but more as protection like around trees and bushes.
Manure: more nutrient rich. Compost: less expensive, slower release of nutrients.
When a compost bin is properly maintained, it really only smells like leaves and earth. It's very important to layer both green materials and brown materials to maintain the optimal temperature. It also needs to be watered and turned. There are different compost methods, but one method involves adding worms to speed decomposition. A couple of don'ts.... Don't include animal products with the exception of egg shells.