Filed under: May 2015 | Tags: animal manures, BS, Compost, food safety, gardening
The home of our farms fertility
May 10, 2015
My day comes to a close. Today was Mother’s Day. Our children all talked to “mom”. It made her day and mine too. As I thought about next weeks “to-do” list, I realized how perfect it was that it is Mother’s Day. Our farm feeds us thanks in part to Mother Earth. It seems fitting to be feeding the soil over the next several days. This manure/compost pile will be reduced to nothing by the end of the week.
There is Bullsh*t, cow dung, horse, pig and chicken manure in here. It is all mixed with straw, old hay, wood chips and sawdust. Only the fresh crap stinks. The rest, mixed well with the carbon materials, smell more like dirt. On foggy mornings, when the air is heavy, the earthy, stinky odor can be a bit much. When we get to this point…it’s time to feed the soil :o)
I have a full week of things to do, but this will be our main focus. The horses and I will do some every day. I load it, they pull the manure spreader and unload it. It is teamwork at its best. The weather for the next seven days is unsettled, with rain and thunderstorms looming. We spread a thin layer being ever mindful of the potential runoff. I want the goodness on my fields, not in the creeks. Once we get our pile spread, much of it will be plowed under, incorporated to feed this years corn crop.
Once we get to the front of the pile, where the pile has composted longest, some will go on our new raised beds. A two to three inch layer will be added, then tilled into the topsoil. Raw manure should never be used where food crops will be grown that season. There are many schools of thought, but my rule of thumb, is one year. Compost manure for a whole year before you put it on your garden beds. Food safety MUST be your number one concern.
This is a spring ritual. I want it done when the soil is warm and the land dry. I don’t want to make ruts. I get the most out of our compost by applying it at the right time. Spring through early fall works best for me. I can compost stuff pretty fast when the days are warm. In winter the process slows, but a properly made pile continues to cook. It is a steamy, foggy , cooking pile of biomass …and that is a wonderful thing!
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RicelandMeadows 
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Pingback by BS and many others! | RicelandMeadows | WORLD ORGANIC NEWS May 10, 2015 @ 11:30 pmI compost our chicken poo and used to make a chicken poo “tea” that worked a treat, but “lack of time” (read lack of motivation) means I have been putting dried chicken poo directly onto the garden beds; thinking I need to change my tactic. Your heap looks almost good enough to eat and there is soooo much of it, I’m jealous!
Comment by jennyrecorder May 11, 2015 @ 3:24 amThanks Jenny, yes…rethink your chicken poo…composting is the thing to do.
Comment by ricelandmeadows May 12, 2015 @ 2:12 pmI get this much twice a year. It really helps my farm! It is not a waste product…it is a wonderful raw material!