Strange eggs found on allotment!

[FutureCompost]

I can't get hold of chicken manure would the pelleted stuff work, would probably be expensive though.

My compost heaps are turned and covered with thick black plastic I don't let any rain get in as I prefer to keep it moist with a watering can so I can regulate the amount of water going on to the heap.

My compost bays are slatted but now I am beginning to think this is not such a good idea, as I think it is drying the compost too much.

Thankyou for your advice 'Chrisg'. I do get good compost out of my heaps but I have never managed to create a hotpile. The reason I am asking is because I am interested in cultivating mushrooms and you need compost from a hotpile to grow them in.

[tufftie]

Have you tried the CAT website - lots of info on there!

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by FutureCompost

I do get good compost out of my heaps but I have never managed to create a hotpile. The reason I am asking is because I am interested in cultivating mushrooms and you need compost from a hotpile to grow them in.

A while back I posted some compost basics - Composting 101

High nitrogen is needed for a hotpile, also the balance of material needs to be toward 'dry fibrous' rather than 'green material'. This is why farmyard manure - straw plus dung - is so effective, however I'm not sure that fungi just don't simply prefer a high nitrogen medium rather than specifically needing a 'hot heap' produced compost.

Adding pelleted chicken manure to your compost should help 'heat it up', however you may find that as long as you can produce a good fibrous compost, adding the chicken manure at the end of the process may be as effective in creating a good mushroom growing medium. Worth experimenting with anyway I would say.

CM

[Cotham Marble]

I forgot to say, that in some circumstances it can be helpful to add lime to a heap. Where the overall chemistry of the compost has become acidic this forms an inhibition to the various microorginanisms that are essental to a 'hot heap', by adding lime the environment changes to a more chemically neutral condition allowing the 'right kind' of bacteria to flourish.

CM

[FutureCompost]

Thanx for all the advice about compost but I would like to hear about recipes for hot compost heaps.
For instance I have my empty 1 metre cube compost bay ready to be filled. So could anyone give me their recipe to fill it.

Eg At the base add a 6 inch layer of this, then add a 6 inch layer of this etc.

Any advice like this would be also greatly appreciated.

[Chrisg]

For me there is no 'recipe' as such, what goes onto the heap depends entirely what's available for composting at the time. Generally though no more than six inches of the same material and nothing too woody. The only regular 'ingredient' I have is a helping of fresh chicken poo every week.

One interesting aside: tomato seeds are not destroyed even in a hot compost heap. Result little tomato plants springing up all obver the flower beds that have been treated with the previous year's compost.

[m1.carson]

Hi,

Few years ago the brother-in-law ran a chicken farm and had permission to spray the local farmers fields with the manure, pheeuw, anyway they asked a chemist to analyse it, the answer came back, "it doesn't do much good, but doesn't do any harm" so we've stayed away from chicken pellets ever since.

Max.

[Dutchess]

I have a few rabbits which produce a fair bit of waste. Currently it goes down the tip into the green waste section (with all the greenery, cut bushes, etc.) I have heard it said that keen gardeners and allotment keepers may be interested as rabbit manure is quite rich in nutrients. So, is it worth asking? And would they only like the "dirty" corners, or would they appreciate the whole lot (my rabbits are bedded on high quality wood shavings.) ?

And is it a myth that too much wood will encourage woodlice? (And are woodlice bad??)

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Dutchess

I have a few rabbits which produce a fair bit of waste. Currently it goes down the tip into the green waste section (with all the greenery, cut bushes, etc.) I have heard it said that keen gardeners and allotment keepers may be interested as rabbit manure is quite rich in nutrients. So, is it worth asking? And would they only like the "dirty" corners, or would they appreciate the whole lot (my rabbits are bedded on high quality wood shavings.) ?

And is it a myth that too much wood will encourage woodlice? (And are woodlice bad??)

Damp wood will be a perfect home for woodlice-but they are generally benign creatures (to us!). They are basically detritovres so an important part of recycling dead/decaying matter. Occasionally they may be a minor problem nibbling new seedlings, but I don't think they are that much of a problem in this respect. Enjoy your woodlice- crustaceans that have colonised terresrial habitats!