Jøhn Kaltenbrüner

Yeah, I think the amounts are probably the most important. I throw an orange or lemon in the heap from time to time and it doesn't feel like it's going to impact what I have going. I think for what I have now (just the two or three simple piles) is fine for what I need at the moment.

I still don;t know if eggshells are a good or bad thing. (once again moderation is key)

maybe there is a specific process? My wife didn't want to put eggshells in the bin because of salmonella. I have no idea.

greg mosser wrote:not clear on ‘fruit insides’…unless there’s something i’m missing about it, there’s not a thing i can think of about any fruit available to me that wouldn’t be compostable.

https://www.buschsystems.com/resource-center/page/7-things-you-shouldn-t-compost

the high acidity content breaks down the good bacteria. Hence why I was asking about the different parts of the compost, because some people say it's good and some people say it's not. There isn't a definite answer it seems on anything. So, It's really just whatever the composter feels is best I guess. I have very little experience in this area. I'm just trying to figure out what a decent path would look like before I make some kind of irreversible mistake.

Matt McSpadden wrote:
I would change the question from "what can I?" to "how can I in the best way?"

alright. That makes sense.

It's really been just trial and error. I just happen to find conflicting information based on the ever-important "good bacteria" growth, and inhibiting the "bad bacteria" growth. We compost just about everything we can, Our trashcan rarely even gets filled with a family of 5. I just don't want to throw something in there that's going to cause another plague is all.

Michael Cox wrote:
Sticks don't go in our compost heap. They go on the burn pile. Sticks WILL compost, but they take a lot longer than everything else. Then when you dig the heap out they get in the way and make the compost hard to use.

I don't put alot of sticks in my pile, I have a few near the ends (almost off to the side). I practice Hügelkultur so it helps me get sort of a running start on some of the more denser wood. We don't have a burn pile and If we did I'm pretty sure I'd be greated by pitchforks from the neighbors where I live. So what does that say about ash then? I know that you don't want to pile it on too thick and wet it down because it produces an alkali. I use it sparingly.

I'm still in the basic processes of my compost pile. It's still an ongoing trial and error. What do you think about eggshells? I can't do meat at the moment, because I tried some version of that and my dog decided he wanted a taste. I'll have to start doing bins to keep him out in that case. Right now my two piles are growing into three.

So I've seen thirty different versions of what seems like the same thing now.
General consensus that I keep getting is that you want your greens and browns in the compost bin. I myself have mostly mulberry leaves, sticks and twigs from same tree, straw, grass trimmings and pretty much any vegetable scraps that don't make it in either my broths or food directly. We also use chicken "offerings" and a decent amount of cardboard or paper scraps. I also love getting the usual “Surprise! Potato plant!”
But what about what not to put in? I’ve seen some conflicting information.

Some maybes (depending on who is saying what)

Ive seen:
• Wood ash
• Branches
• Coal
• Bark
• Egg shells

Some Definitely nots:
• Walnuts
• Cooking oil
• Meat
• Fruit Insides
• Treated wood

Anybody got a definitive (or near definitive) list? Or perhaps some expounding information on why some of these are in certain categories?

And not to gross anyone out, but I’ve also seen that human waste (1’s and 2’s) is fine or beneficial.

That's some excellent stuff right there. Some good compost

Matt McSpadden wrote:My black australorps didn't really start producing until close to 7 months old (28+ weeks). I got them in May, and it was November before I really started getting more than 1 egg randomly. In my case I think it was stress from heading into the winter. Once they started though, they kept right on chugging. I imagine yours will get started soon.

There does not seem to be anything in their diet of concern. Double check and make sure they are getting enough water and are not getting too hot. That can stress them, and stress can make them not lay eggs. Also, it never hurts to check multiple times throughout the day, in case they are laying eggs, but something is taking/eating them.

Good luck.

grand advice! thank you! They seem to be content. Very curious and inquisitive. They are also warming up to us still, but they seem to be getting more comfortable as the days go on. They love to approach us when they know food is coming. I never thought about their water temp, but on the few hot days we have had it wasn't very warm at all. We have some coming as summer approaches I'll be mindful to keep an eye out for it! thank you!

Kristine Keeney wrote:

Dave Roades wrote:Any chance they are laying somewhere other than your designated spot?  We found eggs in all kind of random places before our girls learned to use the nesting boxes we provided.  

As a self-affirmed "Almost Chicken Expert", I agree with This^^.


I have a hen who is currently laying, unpredictibly, in the side yard which is full of nice straw that wasn't gathered in. How do I know she's laying over there? She left two eggs out for me to find while she's off finding another hard to reach place to lay, laughing at me the entire time. I love my girls, but I think about chicken dishes a lot.

Your entire commentary was absolutely hilarious! thank you! I didn't even know about the fake egg thing until I started following more chicken wranglers on tiktok. I literally had no idea that it was even a thing. I guess my next option is to have an "Easter egg hunt" to see if I can find any surprises. If not, I'll just have to be patient. They'll do their thing like the other commenters have said. We have them enclosed in a shelter we build while my wife and I had to quarantine with covid. We have hawks in the area and we used to have more roaming cats, but the hawks might have gotten to them. We didn't want to lose one of our girls the hard way, and we haven't decided on whether getting a rooster would be an option as of yet. They have plenty of room and we made sure the girls had a wondrous play area.

Having chickens sounds like organized chaos, but I'm here for it. Thank you so much for your imparted wisdom!

Dave Roades wrote:Any chance they are laying somewhere other than your designated spot?  We found eggs in all kind of random places before our girls learned to use the nesting boxes we provided.  

I thought about that. I started looking around their living area (we call it the congregation) and I haven't seen anything of note. I think I'll give it a better look this morning when I get home, because I haven't checked every spot.

Anne Miller wrote:Stephen Herrod Buhner in his book Herbal Antibiotics said "Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines."

Often many plants are misunderstood. And this tree has many benefits.

https://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/brazilian-pepper-tree/

that's amazing! thank you! I'll have to redo my plan then! I honestly could find absolutely nothing positive about it. Plus, the area surrounding the pepper-tree having sparse vegetation was not helping. I read somewhere that the tree can have the  "the allelopathic effect" on the surrounding plants