I know it is normally called 'hot' !
(and it pongs a bit of rampant ammonia as well)
so I normally leave it to 'mature' for about a 6month or 1year in a
compost heap before use.

It is woodshavings mixed with old leafmold (from old heaps, they love
scratching thro' it !)
We have recently got a bit carried away with our 'normal' poultry and
added lots of quail as well, so we have a surplus of spent litter.

Should I
(1) build yet more compost bins (pig fencing and liners seem to be the
least labour intensive)
or
(2)spread it on a bed in the veg patch and use it for ,, beans ?
potatoes? not carrots I suppose,, in the spring.
(2a) would I meantime cover it against the winter elements (eg rain
washing the nutrients away)
(2b) let the rain carry whatever down into my heavy red clay* on
limestone hillside.
(3) dig a big ( I mean really big) trench and forget it for a year or
two after I cover it.

*raised beds are being employed to good effect

WaltA wrote:
(2)spread it on a bed in the veg patch and use it for ,, beans ?

You lucky lucky man. I would spread it at the bottom of a trench now,
left open all winter for next year's broadbeans. We like broadbeans a
lot, mostly eaten raw, and 3 rows of 15/20 plants's not enough for our
tribe....

potatoes?

Yes - just spread it on top now and leave it till your spuds are ready
in March. And if you still have surplus (getting very jealous now) it
would indeed be perfect to dump the lot on your clay patch to rot on
and exposed to winter. I've learn my lesson with chooks manure - I got
lots of leaf one year because I applied it too late. Now is so perfect
- I'm annoyed with you ;o)

We wrote :
(2)spread it on a bed in the veg patch and use it for ,, beans ?

Ah! I'll re-phrase that ",,,, runner and climbing french beans" !!

I would spread it at the bottom of a trench now,
left open all winter for next year's broadbeans. We like broadbeans a
lot, mostly eaten raw,

Yes, but, by the time one throws away the stem, unzips and throws away
the pod then peels the bean skins, one is not left with much for all
the effort !! Just a couple of wee cotyledons (sp? terminology?)
So inefficient I think, so I dont )

Yes, it was the leaving uncovered bit that I am not sure about.
I remember that wood ash is good for washing the (something?? my
brain has gone blank !) into the clay to improve the clay.
But with poultry litter it is mostly ammonia, nitrite and nitrate,
would this be retained by the clay or would it go to waste I wonder ?

I also seem to remember something about not digging in uncomposted
woodshavings/chippings type material because of errrr,, nitrogen(?)
robbing ?

hence my quandary !

You lucky lucky man.
- I'm annoyed with you ;o)

heheee ! sorry about that ;-)

"WaltA" wrote in a message:
snip
I know it is normally called 'hot' !
(and it pongs a bit of rampant ammonia as well)
so I normally leave it to 'mature' for about a 6month or 1year in a
compost heap before use.
----------
My parents kept chickens, ducks and goats. All the manure, including the
straw bedding was left to 'mature' in a very large pit for at least two
years.
I remember we grew marrows and cucumbers on the heap the following
year and always won first prizes at the annual garden fete, much to the
annoyance of the other villagers. Each year, as the heap grew in size,
grass snakes used it and the warmth as an ideal home for their eggs.
The snakes too grew into large specimens and although not poisonous,
had sharp fangs!

MikeCT

MikeCT wrote:
My parents kept chickens, ducks and goats. All the manure, including the
straw bedding was left to 'mature' in a very large pit for at least two
years.

Mine usually gets used up with copious quantities of grass mowings and
shredded things. Works a treat in the veg beds.
But now I am in danger of having a garden full of compost heaps, up
with which the domestic staff will not put !

grass snakes used it and the warmth as an ideal home for their eggs.
The snakes too grew into large specimens and

Yep, we have those, gives one a nasty turn upon first discovering them
and adders as well

had sharp fangs!

Eeek ! Do they really !!
I never stopped long enough to ask,
Big steps backwards rapidly !

WaltA wrote:
Yes, but, by the time one throws away the stem, unzips and throws away
the pod then peels the bean skins, one is not left with much for all
the effort !! Just a couple of wee cotyledons (sp? terminology?)
So inefficient I think, so I dont )

Not much of a slow lover ain't ya g

Yes, it was the leaving uncovered bit that I am not sure about.
I remember that wood ash is good for washing the (something?? my
brain has gone blank !) into the clay to improve the clay.
But with poultry litter it is mostly ammonia, nitrite and nitrate,
would this be retained by the clay or would it go to waste I wonder ?

Woodash makes the soil very alkaline but the science bit as regard to
clay and amonnia I dunno. On our clay patch I use lots of OM in autumn
and 5 months later it's ready for sowing without any dig. I use woodash
on my paths - makes them harder and compact the soil better. Make a pit
like Mike suggested and live to enjoy. Make sure you don't fall in with
the snakes shivers

WaltA wrote:
Yes, but, by the time one throws away the stem, unzips and throws away
the pod then peels the bean skins, one is not left with much for all
the effort !! Just a couple of wee cotyledons (sp? terminology?)
So inefficient I think, so I dont )

No much of a slow lover ain't ya g

Yes, it was the leaving uncovered bit that I am not sure about.

Sounds like you've got tons. You've got some of it mixed with leafmold
- as you know, if you leave it now in trench for your veg patch, by the
time of sowing, 3/4 months it would be lovely. If you don't want to do
more bins ... do a pit like Mike suggested and live to enjoy I suppose
and try not to fall in.

I remember that wood ash is good for washing the (something?? my
brain has gone blank !) into the clay to improve the clay.

I'd say woodash is good at making my path hard and help compact the
soil. Dunno about the science bit linked to the clay as far as poultry
manure and levels of amonnia are concerned. I use lots of OM on my clay
patch - works wonder. I leave from autumn till sowing time - then
hardly dig in, if at all. But I wouldn't use it now - not until it is
fully decomposed. I'm going to look into this choock/woodchip mix. What
did you do before? Did you get the chickens recently?

"La Puce" wrote:
What
did you do before? Did you get the chickens recently?

We only had a few bantams and quail before so my 5ft diameter cylinder
and 6ft sq. compost bins, plus 3 of the common plastic dalek things
could easily cope with all
the poultry waste mixed with lots of grass and shredded prunings,
makes good compost.

___But now___ we have a shed full of quail and our daughter has got
chicken (large and bantam), geese, turkey, and ducks but mostly in
woodland, so we get their stuff as well and ummm, it's getting to be a
bit much !

So I think a couple of heaps (like Mike says) on a couple of my veg.
beds is going to be the easiest way to go.

WaltA wrote:

(snip and still dreaming of having chickens .... )

So I think a couple of heaps (like Mike says) on a couple of my veg.
beds is going to be the easiest way to go.

Long discussion today at our lotty - 4 tons of horse manure was dumped
for all to enjoy and guess what, it was sawdust with a very little
amount of straw. The stuff is so new, you'd think the horses just
dropped the lot. We've all decided to mix, in equal quantities, with
the compost we've kept on our respective plots. If not used for 6/12
months, the old fellas swore it would be fine. I however helped myself
to about 8 wheelbarrows and made a head which I covered with a carpet.
I'll make holes in it and will grow a nasturtium mountain ))))

I'll make holes in it and will grow a nasturtium mountain ))))

Sounds good ! Looks good and you can eat them too.