bless-my-garden.com » composting

turning compost and making tea

Penny — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:34:00 +0000

Your compost piles will cook faster if you turn then occasionally. The point being that fire needs oxygen. Now you don’t want a real flame but you do want it to generate heat. That is what turns it from manure to fertilizer. When it is cooked, it is nearly sterile. No germs. Amazing how God creates isn’t it?
Sow how do you turn it? Well if it is layered loosely and it should be you can just lift up some sections with a pitch fork, or you could actually shovel it to a new spot so that the top is now on the bottom.

more on composting

Penny — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:33:00 +0000

There are all kinds of fancy composting machines out there and you could spend hundreds of dollars on “cooking” you manure. Or you could just do it like we do. We might waste a little but hey, around here manure is something we have plenty of. We simply pile it up in heaps. When the barn is cleaned out or the stallions pens are cleaned out it is piled in one corner of the garden. It is best to layer manure then leaves or grass clippings or whatever. If you have rabbit manure or chicken droppings and those are probably both mixed with some sort of bedding also, it is best to layer with the horse manure. Your compost pile should be away from any buildings. It will actually cook, heat up, and could spontaneously combust.

manure

Penny — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:13:00 +0000

That is not really a subject most folks like to talk about but for gardens it is essential. Sorry to tell you city folks but it is where fertilizer comes from and part of God’s big plan in the eco-cycle of the grand ole food chain. To have good veggies you have to have manure. Gross I know. But only manure from vegetarian animals. Cow manure is good, rabbit and chicken manure is good but too “hot” meaning high in nitrogen so it must be aged. Horse manure is probably the best there is. It all works well when composted together.