Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Composting Through the Winter

Composting is so addictive and composters are always looking for ways to make more of it.  Composting requires heat and therefore, usually stops when winter comes.  I call my chickens "my little composters" and for good reason.  They eat all kinds of "waste" and what they don't eat (citrus rinds, banana peels), breaks down quickly thanks to the chicken's droppings.  Chicken poo is known as a "hot fertilizer", which means it will burn your plants if place directly on them, but works it also works great to break down those harder to break down wastes.  The back corner of my garden has become the community compost site and of course, the chickens help themselves to whatever looks good to them.  The added benefit is the decomposing matter, attracts all kind of beneficial bugs and worms to the surface of the soil, which in turn adds an organic food source for my chickens and ducks. I also use the Back to Eden gardening method and the wood chips help the soil from freezing, which in turn, provides a beneficial home for those bugs and worms. 


Before this week's 4+ inches of snow, I grabbed the shovel and took a peak at what was going on in my garden soil.  


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