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#254740 Jan 6th, 2009 at 04:04 PM
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Ok, this is my last week to put anything in my current compost pile that I expect to have ready for my spring garden. I normally just compost with leaves, plant trimmings, kitchen scraps ect. well, sometimes if I find a huge pile of rabbit poo, I'll scoop that up and throw it in, but that is rare and probably not enough to matter much.
Anyway, I'll be getting some horse poo from a good friend of mine this week and have a couple of questions.

first, does the poo need to age BEFORE it goes into the compost? she says yes, but she is not much of a grower.

how much poo should I add to a kiddy pool that is five feet wide and about a foot and a half deep? (it's full now with leaves, hay, and kitchen scraps; and almost half the heap is broken down pretty good already)


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You can add the horse manure to the top and leave it there. Don't turn it into the pile. Then when you are ready to use your compost, scrape the poo off of the top and use the composted material underneath. Then use the manure to begin your next pile and it will have time to decompose better for next year's planting.
This way you will get some benefit from the manure this year that sinks into the pile (does it have drainage?) and not so much as to burn your plants. When are you expecting to plant or use the mulch?


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I drilled a lot of nice sized holes in the doggie pool. so it has lots of drainage. I'm planning on using this compost in about 2 1/2 months. I'm cutting it a little close, but being in texas we should have enough warm weather to help the compost along and be ready by that time.
I believe my buddy has more than one pile of poo. she was saying something about giving me poo from the pile that had set up a bit. I just want to make sure I don't do more harm than good. ya know?


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The older poo should be good if it has been setting for a few months. You are a lucky lady



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ok, I'll ask 'how old is your poo' when I pick it up. thumbup
So what's the ratio? Or how many 5 gallon buckets of poo would work well in a 5 ft diameter, 1 1/2 ft deep kiddy pool? bow


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I'll go check.


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This is some of what I found. This is regarding simple horse manure composting without the leaves and table scraps. But it should help you out:
"Your compost system should smell "earthy" and not unpleasant. Odors and flies are associated with fresh manure and once part of the composting process there shouldn't be a problem. If it is not heating if it has a bad odor it means something is not being managed properly -- check to be sure it is not too wet or too dry.

The Finished Compost

Depending how often you turn it and whether it stays damp, your compost could be ready in as soon as a month. Most likely, it will take a couple months in the summer and three to five months in the winter when temperatures slow down the microbial activity,. You will know your compost is ready when it has reduced in volume about 50% and the material looks evenly textured and crumbly like soil and no longer like the original material.

Compost is a rich soil enhancement which improves the health of both plants and soil. Compost improves the physical structure of soil, adds fertility and increases the ability of soil to hold moisture and plant nutrients. It can be added to your pastures, gardens, flower beds, or even used in house plant potting soil. Spread it in a thin layer on your lawn or use it as a mulch to control weeds and retain moisture in the garden, flower areas or shrubs. You may even have a good supply of horseless neighbors who would love to have some composted horse manure for their gardens or flower beds.

Be sure to spread compost on pastures only during the growing season -- late spring, summer and early fall. If you apply it when plants aren't growing you run the risk of having the compost and nutrients washed off the field and possibly into the surface or ground water. Spread a 1/2 inch layer at a time, totaling about three to four inches per year. You can spread the compost either by hand with a shovel or with the aid of a manure spreader pulled by a lawn tractor or small pick-up."

Another site said six months old and it is ready to go.
I just googled 'horse manure in a compost pile and got pages and pages of info.
So what you are getting from your friend may just be ready to go as is. And it looks there isn't a real 'formula' for how much or any kind of ratio.


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Composting ratios usually run somewhere between 50 percent green and 50 percent brown to as much as 25 percent green and 75 percent brown.

Manure in this case is the green part not the brown part. why? because it's the smelly part that gets hot.

Definitely as stated above how long it takes to compost depends on moisture content, temperature and elbow grease.

And I hate to mention it but you don't need a container of any sort to make compost. So your doggie lost his pool for no reason. I do mine straight from the ground once I got enough space to do it that way. There is one note about the size of compost piles to keep in mind. 3x3x3 is the optinal size for a compost pile. It's better to have several this size than one big one. Also compost piles over 6 feet square can get so hot that they spontanously combust. So don't go super big.

About the moisture content. What is best is that the compost feel like a sponge that has been wrung out. Usually it is considered easist to make a depression in the very top of the compost pile and add the liquid there.

Turning the pile. The best way I've seen it done and do it myself is to break the pile apart and then pile it back up with the heated parts spread throughout the new pile so they are reaching all of the brown. Heat has a tendency to migrate to the center of the pile near the bottom. It's usually recommended to turn a pile every 7 to 10 days.

I hope this helps you have your compost done on time.


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cricket Offline OP
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yea, I'm sweating it will be done on time. that's the main reason for the questions. I don't want to burn up anything in the spring.
Oh, and no way I'd take away my doggies pool for no reason. it's about four years old now and full of cracks. it got to where it would only hold water for maybe an hour. so i just drilled a few more holes in it.
I've never heard of a compost pile combusting. what a visual! but I know mine has gotten so hot before I jerked my hand away. (why was my hand in it in the first place? well, it looked hot and I was curious! ha ha)
didn't have the time or energy to pick up the poo today. hopefully, tomorrow.


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bop I got my poo today!!! clap
she gave me some poo that she has had sitting up a while. It has basically no smell and looks a bit like peat moss mixed with a bit of dirt. I got (2) 5 gal buckets to add to my compost. I'm so excited......70 more days and 5 hours! he he he
she says I can get more any time I want.
flwr


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Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker

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