I my self compost without manure.Starbucks gives pounds and pounds of coffee away for free and its better then manure,
then all you need is newspaper cardboard leaves, and your on your way,O and one more thing dont forget the pee.
Once I started using coffey and pee my piles are running around 116 degre.But any one that knows I pee in it wont want my vegies.lol

You use pee?! LOL Not that I think this is bad, as anyone or anything that is healthy the urine is actually sterile. If you use manure you are getting urine as well as horses tend to do both in their bedding. I have access to some coffee grounds and will get some for the pile.

Thanks,
Jane

Just keep in mind that coffee is a replacement for manure.
As long as you have enough browns I guees you could use both theres some guys and gals on here that are the pros,and im sure they will help you out.

Well I have access to a LOT more manure than grounds. I also plan to do some lasagna strips to get more area planted now that I have discovered Virginia creeper. The area is fine for a take-over so its invasive nature will actually be appreciated for once. :)

I'm seeing a lot of different reccomendations for how much manure to greens ratio and where exactly to put it, so I thought I'd ask the experts.

Thanks for the replies so far. I got a good giggle out of you Magnum-composter.

I did quite a bit reserch on pee in compost and gardens as I had so much browns and it was just sitting there doing nothing

So During WWII i read that POW that had vegies gardens in problably the worst kind of soil got theire nitro from pee,
and thats how they feed them selvs.
I would rather do coffey and pee then manure and take the chance that it dint break down all the way and get sick.
I ask't the wife Honey could you plz pee in this bucket????
WHAT ARE YOU NUTS she said. so its just all my pee now.

Oh my God, that's funny! Sorry, but I can't get the picture out of my head of you "watering" the pile...

As I said if you are healthy your pee is sterile. The body rids itself of bacterial waste in the manure. Since I'm only planting flowers, I don't have to worry about getting sick. :)

Thanks for "whizzing" this info my way. :)

I am new to composting also. I have 2 8'x4' beds dug out about 2'...I have a friend who works in a produce dept. of a local grocery store so he give me the old produce. On the first bed I layered produce, chopped up, with shredded newspaper, grass clippings from another friend, wood ashes, and I added blood and bone meal. After about 1 month all you can still see is a small amount of newspaper. I have just started the 2nd bed the same way. Any suggestions for improving this?

purplemonster:

reading some post here, people suggested to go easy on wood ashes unless you know that your soil is too acidic.

Otis.

Your compost pile does not need a container and should not be located, if at all possible, where the sun can cause moisture to evaporate from it. Any vegetative material can be composted, the residue from the foods you eat, the leaves that each year fall from the trees in your neighborhood, all materials to compost. Given the amount of manure to other material you most likely will not have a problem with too little Nitrogen, just watch that the moisture level does not get out of hand. A working compost pile does not need to be wet, just slightly damp, about as wet as a well wrung out sponge, a sponge you cannot get any more moisture from. Compost also should not be placed on concrete, because that tends to get hot which causes moisture to evaporate.
Wood ash should not be put into compost because of its very alkaline nature which will slow, if not stop, the digestion of your material.

The worry about pathogens in horse manure surprises me. If you could get sick from it I would not have lived through my teens. I had horses and worked at a large stable, I always had manure on me from mucking out stalls -- my mother used to make me ride in the back seat with the window open when she drove me home! I also got it in my mouth on occasions when I didn't duck fast enough when we were having "apple fights." It doesn't taste bad at all. ;)

The only risk is tetanus and that is very low. Most gardeners are smart enough to stay up to date on their tetanus shots...or should be...anyway.

I found a study where they proved that there are no pathogens that humans need to worry about. The link is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Study on Safety of Horse Manure

Leaves Jane. For me, fall leaves (preferably shredded) are the perfect C, various micro nutrients, easy to work with, easy to store, easy to mix, course enough to provide proper aeration, and fine enough not to dry out the pile prematurely.

Sawdust is a very strong C but because it is so fine it doesn't contribute to the aeration too well. Paper or cardboard is also a strong C but it has slim to nil nutrients. Certainly usable as a C, and many people do, I generally don't. Although pizza boxes and those paper leaf bags get composted.

Sun/shade to me is more of a comfort thing. In the spring I like to work in the sun, in the heat of the summer, I like to work in the shade. Other than moisture control (which I can control) the pile really doesn't care.

Ground/pad can have other variables. If your pile is near trees or other large plants, there may be a root invasion issue on ground. There other considerations as well, nearness to the area where the compost is to be used for example. Putting a pile in the middle of a garden area, come fall, kick the stuff around and you're done. A lot depends on your own personal situation and it is difficult to say with any certainty what would be best for you. And its been my experience that people will change their minds (sometimes quite frequently) about where they want the CP. (think furniture).

Pathogens. Wow, there has been many discussions about that subject. Some over the top either way. I don't sweat them too much. Growing up (not that I ever really grew up) on the farm, we were exposed to them every day. I don't work with manures in my compost but I wouldn't be scared of them myself.

Lloyd

I am really impressed by what all you do, and started composting. I am using vegetables and mulch for browns (in a can). But I have a very basic question. Don't you get any small bugs around this stuff. When I open a lid of can where Iam storing all this stuff, I see too many very tiny bugs (I don't know what to call them exactly). How do you get rid of them??