Composting ingredients include turkey and chicken manure, horse and cow manure, and rabbit manure. Rabbit manure can be put directly on gardens without composting. Molasses, leaves, yard clippings, urine and kitchen scraps can all go on the compost pile. When using cow and horse manure, it is important that the compost gets good and hot to kill any grass or weed seeds in the manure. A good layer of mulch will cut back on the sprouting of weed seeds.
One member recommended Smelly's Dairy as a source for composted cow manure. She said they will sell you a truckload of composted manure for $20. It was also suggested that riding stables are a good source of manure.
James said that composted manure reaches a high enough temperature to kill hormones and other things that might be expressed in the manure.
Lasagna planting is another method of improving soil. You start with a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard and add compostables on top of that, keeping it moist. This is the way to go if you don't have the strenght of help it requires to dig our an area.
Compost should be about 80% plant products and about 20% animal products.
You do not need animal product to have sucessful garden, but you will need lots of earth worms making poop, or castings
All compost piles should be kept moist. They say about as moist as a damp sponge.
If you need compost delivered, James will be able to deliver 2 yards or more to your garden, provided there is access by wheelbarrow. Elizabeth Anna's regular charge to deliver compost is $85 per yard, but members receive a discount of 20%. This will include amendments of earthworm castings, lava sand and an alfalfa based feed. We will move the compost to your plot and spread it for you.
You can also get your own compost from either Clear Fork or Silver Creek, and they charge $20 per yard. A yard is the size of a standard pickup bed. We give members a 20% discount on soil amendments sold here at Elizabeth Anna's.
The formula to decide how much earth you need is:
- Determine coverage = length X width
- Determine volume in cubic feet = coverage X depth
2" deep = 0.17 feet
3" deep = 0.25 feet
4" deep = 0.33 feet
6" deep = 0.50 feet - Divide cubic feet by 27 to convert to cubic yards.
Garden Example: 25 feet long X 25 feet wide = 625 square feet X 0.33 feet (4 inches deep) = 206 / 27 = 8 yards
James is going to be getting in grub hoes, or "aggies" as they are called in Texas. He uses a 6" and says that women may want a 4" model. Please let us know if you want an aggie. They will cost $30 or less. This is James' favorite tool for digging sod and they will be in in 2 to 3 weeks.
We will also have Urban Composters available later in the season. These are the barrels that sit above ground and you rotate them periodically to mix the ingredients. This is an expensive way to make compost, but it is contained,
fast, and orderless for those of you who may live in a close knit dwelling.
If you find you need certain ingredients for your compost pile, do some networking with each other and within your neighborhood. Leaves in the fall and winter, grass clippings in the spring and summer are great additions to the compost pile. A good pile that gets hot enough will kill pathogens.
