Backyard chickens are great for eggs! But they're also the key to returning the nutrients of fallen leaves back into the soil. There's a Holy Trinity when it comes to composting. Watch to find out more.
One thing I noticed was my coup is very dry(no composting). I have been getting very dry, very well ground leaves and chicken extras. Still gold tho! My lucky plants get some buried near them :)
Awesome seasonal combination good sir, thanks for your insights and explanations! If I may suggest a leaf tip, making many small piles and then harvesting into a bucket, wagon, or whee barrow can minimize leaf harvest time! Micro piles to pick up to form macro pile for compost lol
I just harvested the compost into buckets. Will it burn my vegetables? I have 140 bags of leaves I got delivered for free! Saved a landscaper from dump fees! I'll make a video! Thanks for the info!
TheRainHarvester Won’t burn the vegetables, may do the opposite. The leaves (carbon) will leech the nitrogen from the soil. If you have a nitrogen source, put that on top of the leaves to balance things. Leaves are a great weed barrier, but they are not a fertilizer until they’ve been composted
TheRainHarvester You should be good. Do the sniff test. If your eyes water from a sniff of the handful...ammonia...it’s too hot and will burn young plants. But otherwise, you’ll be good
Absolutely do that! But it depends on a few variables how you should go about do it. I assume it'll be "hot and fresh" chicken compost. Use that on your hungry nitrogen plants. Your corn will love it! Fresh transplants though, I'd take the chicken compost out of the run, maybe add a little more organic matter, stir and wait for a bit. Then apply to your garden. My farmer mentor would do the smell test...if there's a hint of ammonia, wait. If it smells like yummy earth, it's good to go. In between, add to nitrogen loving plants. Hope this helps
Some leaves are slower (I'm guessing yours have a lot of tar) than others, but yes, this will speed them up. If they're one of the ones that is hard to break down, they just need more of that nitrogen for a longer time
