[CVORNurse]

actually seems to be composting.
I know you old hand gardeners are laughing right now, but I am so excited.

I have posted a pic of my compost pile in my album here. It is basically an old dog pen, that had been recycled into a chicken pen. I was asking for a compost bin wall, and DH was tearing down the chicken pen anyway, so we moved it to a better spot and wired the 3 panels together. The front is open, and I actually though it was way too big when we first started it. Planned on having 2 separate piles side by side. Little did I know. I still don't have all the leaves raked up, and the entire bin is piled high. I know you are supposed to have more than just leaves in your pile, but that is 99% of my pile, so to stick a fork in it and see steam this morning, that just psyched me up and made me want to start planting.

 

[Canadian]

Remember to "stir" the pile on a regular basis. This will help prevent rats and hornets from nesting in the pile and attacking you when you approach it. It also helps prevent the pile from bursting into flames. Decomposition causes heat which in turn can cause a fire. Stirring helps get rid of hot pockets and reduces the risk of a compost fire. Very important if your pile is near something that could burn - like a shed or something.

 

[lisat]

I just started my first compost pile too and so excited. My husband was not happy to keep 2 acres of leaves, he wanted to burn them and get them out of the way. But I had them all piled up and it was a huge pile 2 months ago. It is now a small heap! I just keep turning them and they are breaking down, but slowly. Once I start having grass clippings in the spring it will start cooking faster.

I bought a large Rubbermaid garbage can with a snap on lid. My son and I cut 2 inch squares all around it for air circulation. Then put twigs at bottom so it would have air pockets and then layered leaves and kitchen scraps. It is working very fast! I don't see hardly any kitchen scraps when I went out and turned it yesterday. I do open it up and add leaves occasionally and I do open it to let rain get to it if it looks dry in the middle.
I also save worms I find when metal detecting and digging in my garden and put them in the bucket to help break it down. I am also going to ask my neighbor if I can have horse manure to add to it too. Supposed to be the best manure for composting. Heard it has something extra that other farm animals don't have in their manure but can't remember what it is! (Don't use cat or dog, or meat eating animal manure to a compost pile.)

 

[The_Blob]

horse manure is good for composting, but it also takes almost twice as long to break down than cow manure, otherwise it will lower the pH of the soil too much, which is good for tomato growing but hard on a lot of other crops (found THAT out the hard way )

I'm sure you can add lye to it to help with the pH but I don't know how much per 'pile' to add

 

[UncleJoe]

If you need to add nitrogen to your soil, chicken manure has the highest nitrogen content of any livestock animal. I just found that out today at the Pa. Farm Show. Add your dirty bedding to your compost bin.