Timothy Norton

Carbon is an important element when it comes to the creation of compost. Not all materials contain the same amount of carbon so becoming familiar with how different materials break down is important. Luckily for us, some really smart people have put together carbon to nitrogen ratios of many materials for us to better understand. It is generally accepted that the best ratio of carbon to nitrogen to create compost is 30 parts carbon to one part nitrogen. Creating a blend of materials to reach this magic ratio is part of all the fun of making compost.

Common Materials Carbon:Nitrogen Ratios

The more surface area that can be created, the faster the materials will intermingle and break down. Be careful, some materials like sawdust are both high in carbon and has a high surface area. You will need quite a bit of nitrogenous materials to get it to start breaking down sufficiently.

Merry Christmas all!

My wife is incredible guys. I just don't have the dedication and follow-through to crochet but my wife surprises me every time she wants to make something. This holiday season, she put her mind to make some hanging decorations that are to be gifted to our parents and grand parents.

Crochet Holiday Decorations

She crochet everything involved, put it all together, and finished off the ends with some wooden orbs that had the centers drilled out.

Gifts ready to be distributed.

She crochet these with my late grandmother's crochet hooks and it fills my heart with joy that they are still put to use.

Isn't it funny how we sometimes come to decisions? Your poor lab not being able to self-regulate eating mulberries made me smile! What a loveable sounding pup.

I live in New York Zone 5B and I have become a little obsessed with growing peaches. I'm currently in a 'war' with our local squirrels because they engorge themselves on the fruit before it can reach a havestable state. I'm planning on planting some late flowering varieties to supplement my more standard flowering types. I'm hoping to use them as a shorter-lived fruit tree that can have something else eventually succession grow into the space.

Have you considered growing some kind of bush cherry? I have two young nanking cherries that have yet to produce fruit but have grown steadily in the climate. Fingers crossed I may see something this upcoming spring.

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Apples come and apples go.

Happy holidays all!

I love it when two separate interests of mine collide where seperate systems start overlapping each other.

Let's talk about Chicken Composting Systems.

A chicken composting system places compost piles in areas accessible by chickens and utilizes them to build compost. Chickens will scratch and peck the pile, turning materials and help keeping the material aerated. They will help break down organic matter through mechanical action as well as deposit their own fertility into the mix. The chickens will be able to scavenge insects, seeds, and other edibles from the compost benefiting their diet.

It is common to create a shallow bay compost system. The raw compost inputs are placed in the first bay where the chickens can get to them. As it starts to break down, it is eventually moved to the next bay so new raw compost inputs can be inserted into the first bay. As the chickens scratch and the compost ages, the material is moved to further bays until you arrive to a finished product. While the chickens reduce a significant amount of time turning the compost, this still requires some effort. At the end, some utilizers of this system will sift the finished compost and return any unfinished material back into the composting process.

Sean from Edible Acres has developed his chicken compost system over the years. Check out some of his content below.

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Compost leachate is the liquid that drains from a compost pile as organic matter decomposes. Compost leachate is usually dark in color, full of nutrients and microbially rich. Leachate is different from compost tea because it is naturally draining from the compost instead of being 'brewed'. Depending on the amount of leachate generated, there are considerations that should thought about to best utilize this material.

Leachate CAN pose a runoff risk if a sufficient amount of liquid is generated in a pile (usually only seen with industrial scale composting) and left to disperse into the environment. Sensitive areas like waterways and groundwater could have negative effects if unmanaged leachate accumulates in those areas. This can be commonly managed through either capturing the leachate through usage of something like a drip tray or by moisture control/site management. It could be a simple as placing a nonpermeable cover over the pile if there will be heavy rains or as involved as intentionally planted buffer plants near the composting sites.

Covered Compost Piles

(Source)

For my homestead level composting, I create my piles on top of a thick layer of carbon material (wood chips) in order to tie up and mitigate the liquid immediately. I'm a fan of planting comfrey nearby my composting area in order to take advantage of any runoff and turn it into biomass. I do not intentionally cover my piles with any impermeable barriers but I will cover my compost with carbon material. Essentially my compost piles are surrounded with either straw or fallen leaves to help insulate the pile.

Captured compost leachate can be utilized just like compost tea either as a root drench or a foliar spray. The mixture of microbes and nutrients can give a boost to growies that it is applied to. Commonly, it is recommended to dilute this liquid 1:10 to 1:20 parts leachate to water.


Related Threads
Leachate Control for Community Compost
Growing next to Compost Pile

No Rules Compost

There are many resources put out to help folks composting listing things that should not be composted and I am here to challenge that. If something rots, it can become a part of compost. All organic waste can be turned into nutrients for our plants.

No Rules Compost can include meat, bones, dairy, fats, weeds with seeds, cooked foods and more! The one rule to no-rules compost is to avoid anything that could potentially be contaminated with toxic gick. Maybe I should start calling it one rule compost? I digress...

I like to insulate the pile with a thick layer of carbon material on top and the sides to help maintain the heat in the center of the pile. I also believe it helps deal with any potential smell issues that could arise. If a smell does develop, it means that the pile needs to be turned and reassembled with the addition of carbon to balance out the releasing nitrogen.