Chickens Reign! Compost Pile Devasted!

Here's a photo of what used to be a tall compost pile with a narrow
base. The chickens flattened it in less than a week looking for worms,
bugs, and generally tasty items.

I went out this morning thinking the
compost is ready to move into the new raised beds, but it's not. It's
more tied together than it should be; I can't put a shovel into it
easily. I piled it back up with the handy compost tool and I'll check
again next week.

- Bruce

The Compost Tool

What a pain turning the compost pile can be. Ours sits between two wood fences - it's an out-of-the way spot that's perfect for the pile but not so perfect for the pile-tender. I can get to the front of the pile, but can only get to the other side by clambering over or around the pile. Compost piles should be turned regularly so the bacteria in them can breath and heat the pile up. Without air, anaerobic processes take over and the pile can take on a rather unattractive odor.

For a while, I used a garden fork to lift and fling the pile around, bit-by-bit. Flinging a soaking-wet pile is almost impossible. Then I discovered that a garden rake was a vast improvement, but the tines aren't that long and the rake is rather wide for the job. Then I ran across a long-handled cultivator at an Ace Hardware store and picked one up at a great price. This tool is perfect for the pile. It digs in pretty deeply, doesn't often get jammed with material, and pulls up and through the pile easily.

I've been working the pile the past few days to get reasonably-finished soil, which is at the bottom of the pile, so I can begin loading the raised beds. I'm doing it bit-by-bit so the chickens can work the detritus all day long and I can do other things besides lug rotted organic material around. The pile, by the way, steams when I turn it, which is a good sign. The innards are probably about 100 degrees F or so. There are a lot of worms in it, and they wriggle happily so things can't be that hot.

Raised Beds, perhap

I've had it with lugging compost around in five gallon pails. Our compost pile is kind of awkward to get to with a cart of any kind, but moving a few lbs of compost at a time wasn't very productive. I did some research. Wheel barrows are too tippy. A stable garden cart looks attractive, but some cost almost $200.

There is a $50 cart out there, and our local Ace Hardware had one collecting dust near the back (it was filled with other stuff and obviously in the way). I asked how much it was worth to them to have me get it out of there, and I got a pretty good deal so I went home with one of these Rubbermaid "Tough Carts."

Now I can work with industrial quantities of compost, at least compared to the five-gallon bucket days. I quickly filled up the garden, which thrilled the chickens but led to a lot of dirt getting flung onto the adjoining walkway. Now, looking for a new home for the compost, I've started putting in raised beds.

The beds are walled in with 2x8's that I got from a recycled lumber place (Whole House Building Supply in East Palo Alto). Ok, I'm going to forget the topic-sentence for this paragraph and digress for a moment. Whole House Building Supply is a great place. They've got a lumber yard with well marked boards nicely organized. They'll also make things to order, like tractor chicken coops or outhouses (I presume, but I doubt there's much demand here). There's an outdoor weight-lifting area. It's probably for employees only, but it didn't look like anyone would stop me if I wanted to move some metal up and down. They have a bunch of chickens wandering around, too. There are also plenty of building materals, like windows, molding, and hardware.

Back to the raised beds. Most of the walls are up now (they are only about eight or twelve inches high). I've haven't filled them much yet because the compost isn't fully compost yet. I think it will be in good shape in a few weeks, but now it's a soggy mound of moderately recognizable leaves and straw (which is progress because a few weeks ago the leaves and straw were clearly identifiable). I planted some broccoli in one of the walled-off but not filled areas. I put a hacked-off gallon milk jug over each plant (to keep the plant warmer) and the a ring of wire-cloth around each milk jug (to keep the chickens away). Now that the broccoli plants are snug and fortressed, they should do pretty well.