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lee_l_brittain

Best composter/compost system I should use?

9 years ago

I have ducks that we raise for eggs, and so there's about one 45 gallon trash bag per week of pine shavings and duck poop that I clean from their pin. We also have lots of leaves to clean up each fall. What would be my ideal compost system for a continual supply of material like my duck manure? I am looking to use compost in my garden for my giant pumpkins I'm trying to grow. I tried to use a SunMar composter before but it's a piece of junk. Sounds like from some reading I've done on here that my best option might be to just go with a wire bin/bunk and just continually pile onto it.

Comments (13)

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I grew up in a remote community of subsistence farmers. They all let such waste just pile up, leave it there for a year or two, spread it where desired in the fall and 'turn it under'. However they had no space considerations or esthetic problems to worry about.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think albert makes a good point... what are your concerns or requirements for space and visual appeal?

    What are your time constraints, and physical ability for such maintenance as turning, covering, etc...?

    One thing to keep in mind from your comment, whatever does eventually work, since - all things staying the same - you're going to have continual supplies of material, you're going to need multiple piles. Whatever size and construction (or lack thereof) works best, you'll need to decide what is a manageable size and just stop adding to the current pile and start a new one. This will allow each pile to heat up, and eventually 'finish'. If you continue to add to a pile, it is a bit tougher to manage and sift out the finished, from the not finished product.

  • 9 years ago

    Yes, just pile up the leaves, straw, and duck poop. Turn a couple of times and it should be ready in a year. Or don't turn at all and it will be done in two years. If you want it to go faster, increase the nitrogen content, like collecting some big bags of used coffee grounds from a local coffee shop and mix those in as well.

  • 9 years ago

    There are a lot of options you can choose. Also if all you are producing is some giant pumpkins you will be making a lot more compost then what you use unless we are talking about 100+ pumpkins. You are producing 2340 gallons of uncomposted manure a year.


    The first option is to collect a few months worth of the manure and let it age for a year. After a year it is considered safe to use as is.


    The second option is to hot compost it. With the high nitrogen and carbon present in this manure you will want to turn it often to keep it both moist and to feed it oxygen. If you are vigilant your compost should stay hot and finish in as little as 12 weeks.


    If you have the room I would use both methods. I would collect all the manure through the winter months then come spring I would make a pile and cover it so I could use it next spring.


    From spring to winter I would make several hot compost piles. As each pile finishes I would either use it or store it. The question you need to ask yourself is what to do with all the extra compost. You could sell it or give it away but that is all up to you.


  • 9 years ago

    Some questions. How much space do you have? How much work do you want to do? What's your climate like (zone)? How large of a garden are we talking? Are you trying to grow record pumpkins?

  • 9 years ago

    I have 10 acres so space is not an issue. I have about a half acre vegetable garden and then several acres of pecan/walnut orchards. Don't want to do an incredible amount of work to get the compost. I'm in Zone 5b in central Indiana, so a moderate amount of rainfall each year. I am trying to grow record pumpkins. Sounds like may best bet might be to just make a big 3 sided wall with 4 x 8 ' sheets of treated plywood and make big batches of composts in those compartments.

  • 9 years ago

    And my duck bedding waste is more like ~80% pine shavings and ~20% duck manure.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I wouldn't make 'walls' myself. You certainly can if you like, but if you don't want to do much work, you're going to want air to get in there as freely as possible. Large farms often use a bobcat or front end loader to mix their composting manures. At that ratio, I'm guessing it's going to be a slow composting process. If you don't have a machine to mix, then letting it sit for a year will work. Just sift it after a year to remove the larger, un-composted wood shavings (unless I have the wrong image of the shavings in my mind.) You can add those back into another pile.

    Many people use pallets to make the walls. They have spacing between the slats for freer air flow. Others use wire fencing. I compost wood chips, I use no walls at all... just piles.

    If you have a 'lean to', or open air roofed barn, as long as the pile stays moist your finished product will have a bit more nutrient value. Covering helps to avoid nutrient loss through run-off from rain. Tarps though, prevent air from entering. Mixing, along with tarping works well, but requires the maintenance of mixing. Some very large farms do anaerobic composting, but that's really a different process and you need to do a bit of research when working anaerobically with manures.

  • 9 years ago

    If it was me, and I wanted an easy way, I'd start building a pile and continue adding to make it into a windrow. I'd probably also add some leaves (I love leaves) so the C:N ratio would be not in the optimal range but with lots of space and time it would work out just fine.


    Local guy around here used to grow the Atlantic Giants and he collected copious amounts of shredded leaves every fall. I'm not sure what he did for fertilizer but he did grow some spectacular pumpkins. His son-in-law started as well and brought me his "waste" one year (he still grows but he moved to another community).

  • 9 years ago

    I was thinking a series of bins too, but if you have that kind of space, a long windrow would be just as good. Add to one end and the other end is your oldest. If you had a tractor with a front loader, turning would be easy as pie. Whatever you do, keep the 'new' stuff separate from the oldest to allow it to finish. A batch or continuous batch process is what you want.

    Some cover would be good, not only to prevent leaching, but to keep it moist in hot weather and prevent waterlogging in wet weather. Either a leaky tarp (the woven kind) or something you can put on and take off quickly.

  • 9 years ago

    There are some concrete pads I could put the material on, would it be better to place on concrete or on dirt?

  • 9 years ago

    Not sure if there is a better for that one. The concrete will stain if that is an issue for you. Composting on a pad will reduce if not eliminate weeds infiltrating the material. This would be an issue for a pile/windrow on dirt that is not disturbed (mixed) to any extent. Working on a pad makes it easier if the weather is wet but if one is just going to pile and forget it then you probably won't be working it anyways. Composting on pads also brings drainage into play.


    To add to my "if it was me" comment I might consider building the windrow or piles right in the vicinity of, or actually in, the garden if it is large enough and there was space. I'm probably projecting my garden area into the conversation and this may not be what yours is like.

  • 9 years ago

    I compost my wood chips on concrete, but as Lloyd mentions, not because it's better or worse for the compost. I do it simply because I have more free space on the concrete driveway that I have than anywhere else on the property, and the concrete makes it easier for me to 'process' and clean up the finished material. However, I'm not working with manure and the potentials for human pathogens. I would like to hear people who have experience with manures to provide insight on this matter.


    I like the idea of keeping it in the garden area, but again... pathogens. So... close to the garden, but not too close. Maybe in a fallow area that will be worked in the next season?