So we've had these two tiny compost bins. They're tidy, and they're cute, but they're small! They've been full since the middle of summer, and we're just getting into the heart of the compost season.
And now we have chickens!
Chickens generate a really substantial amount of compost. We use pine shavings in the coop and the nest boxes themselves, and we put straw on the ground of the run underneath.
And chickens poop all over the place, so we change the pine shavings out weekly, and the straw out pretty consistently.
Our tidy, tiny, cute little compost bins have been completely overwhelmed by the amount of compost from the garden and the lawn and the chickens and the landscape trimmings and whatever else we've thrown at them.
So we have started another compost bin. You can see that it's not the least "cute" and while it's tiny by the standards of some farmers I have known, it's big enough to handle what we're going to throw at it.
Yep, it's just three pallets screwed together. I've been adding (and will continue to add) some better siding where it's kind of thin, but we're excited about the increased capacity.
And it will be so much easier to turn the compost as it ripens. That will be really nice.
As it fills up, we'll add something across the front if it turns out we need it: cedar fence boards are cheap and probably sufficient. Or a piece of another pallet.
And we're expecting a whole lot more compost to be ready for the gardens come spring!
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