A new journey into homesteading "pic heavy"

[Chic Rustler]

well I got them about half full of this and that.

I threw some rabbit manure on top of the wood chips. Then a bit of native soil (sand). Then I decided to clean out some of the deep litter from the chick grow out pen. It's pretty deep and rich dark black. It also stinks... a couple layers of that, some unfinished compost (mostly leaves and kitchen scraps) then more sand and more deep litter.


I still habe a ways to go to get them full. I'm hopeful things will be broken down a little more by mid March and the manures won't be too hot. We will see

 

[baymule]

Get some leaves and mix with the compost. One year, in the fall, I raked up a massive pile of leaves and mixed with horse manure. I planted potatoes in it in early spring and got the prettiest, biggest potatoes I ever raised. In a pile of leaves!

 

[Chic Rustler]

my unfinished compost is mostly leaves and grass clippings. only thiing that worries me is the chicken litter being too hot and killing everything. But it's the most beautiful dark color. Hard to believe it started as a pile of grass clippings, pine shavings and some chicken poo.


I just left home depot. I got a few bags of Kellogg raised bed soil. I should be able to put a nice layer of it on top and hopefully that will be mild enough to keep new plants from burning.

 

[baymule]

You are still a few months away from planting. Just mix it up good, wet it down and let it sit. I think it will be fine. I used to clean out the deep litter and put it directly in the garden and plant into it. Never burned anything, probably because there was so much organic material as opposed to just pure chicken manure.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Well that's it for now. As it settles I'll add more of that Kellogg soil. It's pretty good looking stuff. I mixed everything up and then put 6 cubic feet of the bagged soil on top. I really like the bagged soil. It looks like it's mostly composted wood chips.

 

[baymule]

Those beds are looking good!

 

[Chic Rustler]

Thanks. We are very hopeful. I plan on filling them with root crops

 

[Chic Rustler]

The chicks are doing well. I can't wait to get these feed hogs in the freezer! They are eating 50lbs a week

 

[baymule]

How many do you have and what breed are they?

Are you getting any of this rain?

 

[Chic Rustler]

I got 34 chicks. Mostly Rhode island reds, but a few black sexlinks and a few mutts. We got a little rain today.