For about a year (stopped during winter) I have been adding table scraps, chicken bedding (pine shavings) + chicken poop, leaves, and the occasional pile of lawn trimmings to a big pile in my woods (I’ll add some photos in the comments idk if they’re any help).
I was trying to do the cold compost method so mainly just chucking it all in there and calling it a day. Tons of leaves naturally fall into it as well. Warm here again so I’ve been back at it and I decided to turn it with a pitchfork and see how it’s doing since I’m about to start gardening, I feel like it’s not going very well as I can see pine shavings all throughout but I’ve never done this before.
Am I doing something wrong or just need to wait longer?
by anotherberniebro1992
8 Comments
Turns out I can’t add photos to the comments, but it’s a big pile open air pile that has gotten pretty tall now and is kept in place by chicken wire if that matters.
Hmm I might guess that you could add more “brown” to it, as in stiffer stuff like sticks broken down and wood? I know that compost has to be a balance of “green to brown”, but that’s all I know ha
Too much brown. You need more green to balance out all the pine shavings.
Not sure what’s going on with your pile but here is our recipe that seems to work great. Table scraps go to the chickens so no food products in our pile. We use almost exclusively leaves and pine shavings/chicken poop cleaned out of our coop for browns and plenty of raked up lawn clippings or garden debris for greens. Any sticks we throw in are few and small, like twig size. Mix it up well with a pitchfork, make sure to hose it down with plenty of water and cover it with a tarp, plastic or canvas works as long as it traps heat in. That’s pretty much it. I’ll mix it up good again when we add to it then hose it down good and recover it with a tarp. We don’t add anymore to it after fall so it has a few months to break down before the next spring and just have a second pile started and swap back and forth. Good luck OP, hope this helps.
Keep in mind Pine is one of the longer lasting woods out there to break down. It’s not uncommon to have pine shavings last a few years before they breakdown to “dirt”. This spring, add grass clippings if you can, it will heat quickly, and help break down things. Not unusual for the compost to slow over winter as well.
Aerobic composting needs 5 things. Air, water, mass/food, heat, time. If you aren’t getting results, something in the formula is off.
Doing compost in ground deprives it of oxygen.
If you do anaerobic composting (without oxygen), it will take much longer.
Not enough greens and looks too dry to me. Ideally, compost retains moisture without being saturated. If you squeeze a handful, a little water should come out.
Remember that cold composting takes a lot longer, especially if there are lots of oak leaves (that’s what I see, right?) and woody bits. Even in a hot pile, they can take a year if not regularly tended! Your pile looks dry but also well on its way. As temps heat up, and if you keep it moist and regularly turned, you should see a rather rapid improvement.
Moving forward, try keeping 2 different piles. One with stuff that breaks down quickly and another with slower going, set and forget it type items. You can split the current pile using 1/4 to one half to jump start a long term pile and the remainder as a pile that primarily gets greens added to it. That pile could be ready to apply by July.