What ever fits through the hole on top of my wheelbarrow goes into the garden.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

John....how many BM's have you had today? heh. I'm trying to understand your reply....

EG

I screen mine over the wheelbarrow with hardware cloth and put the big chunks back in the pile for another go-round.

Peggy

I do not screen my compost. I shred before composting and whatever is not finished will go in the garden with the finished compost and MN does the rest.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

I screened mine through a chicken wire frame, and I must say, after a while it was NOT the most fun I've had playing in the compost. Not to say for sure I won't do it again, but I wouldn't do it just for gee whiz...

Peggy - That's exactly what i'm intending on doing, except for the wheelbarrow part. I'm wanting to differentiate my three piles by particle size, so that I don't have to wait for the larger items in my best decomposed bin to finish. Cool! I hope 1/2" mesh is a good size to use, for the screening process.....

Greenbean - I can imagine that it's alot of work, but shouldn't have to be done very often. No biggie....

John - Yours cooks so fast, I don't expect there are too many large pieces left over.

EG

So far, I just threw it in and let the rest compst in place. About the only screening was more "quality control". I would toss aside any big twigs while I was working it into the soil. Leaves and other things that break down fairly fast I just left to compost in place. It's pretty easy to do when you only use a handful per square to replant.

Depending on how this batch of compost turns out, I may build a wire frame, but I'd rather do it the easy way. hehe

Trust me you don't want to go any smaller than 1/2 inch. It takes way too long to sift and 1/2 inch gets you a nice size particle.

I don't sift mine but we do at the community garden. I shovel and haul mulch while someone else sifts compost. It just seems counterproductive to me.

i don't, but while we were doing the manuer, i mowed it, and to me, that was "sifting" it, and that stuff came out really really soft and like it does when ya stick stuff in the food processor. i loved it!!! :') ~Medo

Here is a link that might be useful: Barehanded Totally Nutso Gardener!! **Big Grinn**

Sinfonian - as you already know, i'm not scared of a little bit of extra manual labor. :) I'll probably screen bin #3 tomorrow ( after I get the sifter constructed )

shebear - I bought 1/2" today, and think that it will be just fine. Thanks.

Medo - Umm.....Are you saying that you mowed a big pile of crap? Heh. That's funny....I would be listening to the album "cut the crap", by Jackyl, while doing it...Hee Hee

EG

I joined FreeCycle recently...the first day someone offered horse manure. My husband works in that city (lives there during his work week) so he picks up 3 or 4 bags of it on his last day of work.

I have been using it as I build more asparagus beds; have an 8'x2' bed but have 50 crowns coming in February so am adding 3 more beds plus I've got asparagus seeds to start. After I added the manure to all the asparagus beds this week, I had one bag left...told my hubby to dump it on the compost pile. Gotta water the compost pile, not even a drop of rain in months. We're very dry and I'm praying we have a better year in 2009 than 2008.

Peggy

I only use my compost for my containers, and I like it chunky. I will pull out big pcs or anything green, but if there is too much of that then I figure it is just not ready yet.

Kay.

LOL, I'm just busy turning the stupid leaves, lol.

A lot of posters here refer to horse manure a lot. I haul a bag or two of cow manure all the way from MS when I visit there--because my brother offers it. Is there a reason why many of you seem to prefer the horse type manure over cow or is it just availability? Weird question, I know!!

Maybe John will chime in, because he's the king of horse manure! I wish I could help you, but I just don't know the answer...sorry.

EG

Here is a link that might be useful: EG's garden blog

Available by the truckload, only a few miles from the house, and free. That's why I use it.

Years ago, my father and grandfather would use different manures for different vegetables. The chicken manure would be used for things like corn, greens and the cabbage family. Pig manure would be used on the squash family. I cannot remember what was used on root crops. That was back when they had the family farm and a verity of animals. I also cannot remember how horse, cattle or sheep manures were used. Now back to your question, I am sure the HM is popular because of the availability. The horse has a very inefficient digestive system, the manure contains more weed seeds but more microbes also. Hot composting or time will kill the weed seeds and the bad microbes. With cow manure, you must be more careful with the green to brown ratio. If you ever drove through farmland and smelled a very offensive odder, somebody usually says, the farmer must be spreading pig manure. Actually pig manure has very little odder, it was cow manure that had soured. The bottom line is take any and all you can get and use it liberally. Maybe we will see your vegetables in the exhibition hall at the county fair.

john

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

Poultry manure is the hottest of all, and has the most offensive (to me) odor. Rabbit poo can be used straight from the rabbit, without composting. I really don't mind the smell of cow poo, but then I really like cows, horses not so much ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Granny back then, they did not compost as we do today. They would throw any yard/garden debris on the manure pile outside the barn. The kitchen scraps would go to the hogs except for meat scraps and bones and they would go to the dogs. Manure was always tilled under in the fall and annual rye grass planted for a cover crop. I can remember many things about the farm first hand and many more that my father told me, I will put them in my journal some day if I ever get the time.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

i want to get a few rabbits just for the manuer, ummmmm......and their offspring. LOL but mainly the manuer, and i would have a thingi below their cage, so when i need to dump it, i don't have to go digging!! LOL **big grinn** i'll just wheel barrow it!! ~Medo

Here is a link that might be useful: Barehanded Totally Nutso Gardener!! **Big Grinn**

I've been getting rabbit manure for the last few months from a gal who lives down the road a bit. She advertised baby bunnies for sale on Craigslist, and listed my neighborhood as her location. I sent an email asking about the bunny poo, and now she emails me when she cleans the cages, and I go pick up a trash bag of garden goodies.

I don't think cow manure smells so bad (reminds me of back home sometimes), but when they used to spread the "liquid manure" on the fields in the spring when I was a kid, whew, that was pretty unpleasant. Not as bad as driving by a feedlot though.

I'd say unless it's for a landscaping project or a flower garden where you want everything to look perfect, there is absolutely no need to screen. Whatever still needs to decompose a bit can do it in the ground. Except maybe large quantities of wood chips. Since too many of them in the ground can stunt the growth of most plants by robbing them of Nitrogen.

I'd definitely screen if I were going to cover my seed with it, but otherwise I'd just toss the larger bits back into the pile.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

west texas peg - After looking at all of my options...I think i'll do exactly like you do yours. Just screen it directly over my wheelbarrow, then throw the larger pieces back into the pile. Thanks for the suggestion.

Jeremy - I pretty much have to make my garden perfect, as you'll see later. The small pieces will be the only stuff going in there. I know....i'm kinda weird!

EG

great idea!! i do want to get lots of it, so i'll just put an add up in the grocery store window, freecycle, and craigslist. And then i'll put an add in the "weekly wipe" and see if it costs to put an add in our little newspaper? then i should get lots of it?? do ya think?? i mean most people feed their rabbits that pellets that look like grass stuff. LOL well grandpa sure did!! LOL i better get on that tomarow!! Hee Hee!! you guys are sure the best!! i sure did miss ya'll!! i've been at mom's for like a week, and sure did miss my house!! now i have a few messes to clean, trades to get out and EG i did not forget about ya!! :') or you either Carolyn!! did ya sign up for the seed thing in the Wow i wanted that seed in the round robin?? it is looking to be fun!! i check in every once in a while, but mom is really fussy about us being on the pc unless its for the kids school work. i missed my plants, i could hear them calling me "mommy come home, we miss you!!" LOL **big grinn** ~Medo

Here is a link that might be useful: Barehanded Totally Nutso Gardener!! **Big Grinn**

EG

The wheelbarrow I used was one of those plastic things that was really deep so I could sift for quite awhile and then wheel it to where I needed it.

BUT that wheelbarrow is no longer usable : ( The plastic just does not stand up to what I dish out : )

Hubby bought one of the cheapy metal ones which I hate.
When I load it up with soil for raised beds it tips over but it should be good for compost which is nice n fluffy.

No manure this week :( gotta feed the compost pile Starbucks coffee grounds instead.

Peggy

Hehe, darn near 25% of my pile is starbucks grounds. It's all good. And I know what you mean about those low metal wheel barrows. I've got one and won't buy another.