Compost advice.

[Smithy67]

I've been dabbling at turning some dung into compost. Last summer's effort was fantastic and I ended up with rich black earthy stuff. My most recent effort started about Christmas time, I had been dutifully turning it and initially it was cooking away nicely, however I think I might have gone wrong by continuing to turn it through the icey snowie weather and it's gone a bit cool and slimie. Would it now be beyond redemption? Many Thanks...

 

[Barleycorn]

My compost always finishes up like that, it's because it runs out of N. Still some good stuff though, and grows more grass than the green waste compost at half the application rate. I think I probably do turn it a little too long.

 

[martian]

I've been dabbling at turning some dung into compost. Last summer's effort was fantastic and I ended up with rich black earthy stuff. My most recent effort started about Christmas time, I had been dutifully turning it and initially it was cooking away nicely, however I think I might have gone wrong by continuing to turn it through the icey snowie weather and it's gone a bit cool and slimie. Would it now be beyond redemption? Many Thanks...

How were you turning it? We've got some that is the opposite: too dry. Horse poo and woodchips, I think it hasn't got enough N in the horse muck and too much Carbon on the shavings. Can you add some woody stuff to yours and re-turn? You need air in there for the microbes to do their business and warm the heap up.

 

[HolzKopf]

How big is this dung heap then?

 

[Smithy67]

How were you turning it? We've got some that is the opposite: too dry. Horse poo and woodchips, I think it hasn't got enough N in the horse muck and too much Carbon on the shavings. Can you add some woody stuff to yours and re-turn? You need air in there for the microbes to do their business and warm the heap up.

I've been turning it with the front bucket on my jcb. Have spoken to some local tree surgeons about getting some wood chip for future reference but think I'll just spread this lot and put it down to "experience". Many Thanks.

 

[Smithy67]

How big is this dung heap then?

Hi, it's a long row about 4metres wide and 2 metres tall.

 

[snarling bee]

We've mixed 500T Pig FYM with 500T green waste compost. Hopefully it will be a good product.

 

[Smithy67]

We've mixed 500T Pig FYM with 500T green waste compost. Hopefully it will be a good product.

Sounds like good stuff! Spoke to someone at a livery yard yesterday about getting there woodshaving dung. I guess it's all about what you can find locally.

 

[le bon paysan]

Your heap might be a bit to big. The oxygen will have difficulty getting to the centre of the heap. Just a thought.

 

[PuG]

We'd normally be dumping in a line across our fields and roll the row every so often with the telyhandler - until last spring when two complete heaps were thieved with car's and trailers (and the neighbors farm!). So last summer spread fresh on the fields, this year will try and compost it in the barns. ..

 

[Smithy67]

You wonder how anyone thinks it's ok to do that! Must have been good stuff though

 

[hollister]

Someone probably put a post of Facebook of the location and to pay before collection.

 

[robs1]

Sounds like good stuff! Spoke to someone at a livery yard yesterday about getting there woodshaving dung. I guess it's all about what you can find locally.

Make sure you charge for collecting it