Heeeyho Readers! More updates from our little ranch!
Got back to the ranch last weekend. Days are longer and summer rains eased a bit, which inspires me to cycle up there. Going by bus is kinda boring, and I need to exchange buses halfway through. Because it's so annoying to match bus times I prefer to take the bicycle with me on the first bus and finish the trip by bicycle — it's a pleasing two-hour ride on sinuous rural roads.
First task there is to inspect the compost box. This is my favorite task, although I often abandon it for several months, and dad seems not as excited in a box of dirt as I am. Too bad, because this time our compost does look pretty kaput. How not? It's been untouched since November.
Moisture is non-existent when I remove the tarp covering the compost. The compost should've been turned a long time ago to keep things alive. I try the hand squeeze test, but the mix is visually dry.
It is salvageable!
I removed that layer of straw from atop the compost to see what lays underneath (seen above). That straw went back in as a base layer below a load of uncomposed matter. It's inverted now, like turning the box upside down.
Now we gotta add some greens to re-ignite the bomb. There's nothing much to add in terms of greens; we don't have any kitchen waste. Time to invade the Chickenian Army's headquarters in search of some fresh poopery.
It's about time to clean the poopery mess in our chicken poop coop. Plus, a load of manure is more than welcomed in the compost.
The concrete floor is heaven. A few sweeps and a hose cleans all the shit, literally. I still want to paint the interior in lime to make it fresher, so fresh that I might sleep in there with the chickens. Anyways. Back to the compost.
Chicken poopery goes on top. The compost on the right of the box is nearly done, so I decide to sift to re-use the bigger bits in the newly created mix on the left. Covering that chicken poop avoids flies, hence the extra work.
Isn't that beautiful?
A new batch of compost on the way. There's also another purpose to sifting the compost. Because I plan to use it to recover my mom's grassy yard, removing chunks of wood, little stones and other particles is really important. And because it's absolutely satisfying {laughs}.
Other than working on the compost, Dad and I began to move stuff out of the wooden shed, so it can be dismantled. Hard work indeed, but has to be done. We are also organizing the yard at the ranch.
The red water storage drum is going closer to the chicken coop. We plan add a gutter to collect rainwater from the chicken coop's roof into the drum. If it works well, we'll build a proper base for the drum to sit atop; for now a few bricks will do it.
The blue drum is now collecting water from dad's house water tank overfill drain (we don't have an automatic water pump, hence, water often spills out whenever we forget to turn off the pump. Now we can collect that water in a drum to use in other applications).
It doesn't feel like a lot, but these cleaning/organizing tasks make everything look better.
In the end, ranch life is all about moving stuff around until we get tired. Then we rest. And then do it over again. It never gets boring.
I hope you've enjoyed a day in our ranch.
Peace.
If you enjoyed this post consider leaving your upvote for a hot coffee.
Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrprofessor_
~Love ya all,
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
A day in the ranch is really and hectic one. It actually a surprise to me to see chicken poop useful for the composite pit. I don’t know what everything is about but it was nice to read your blog and hope to see more of it and also learn about things like this. Keep up the good work.
Heyho! Chicken poop is epic in the compost; it's high on nitrogen
It is good that we use an organic fertilizer and I really amazed of the compost pit you did Sir. 👍
Organic is the best, isnt it? Full of nutrients. Gotta see if the grass is gonnna like it
Yes that is true Sir, organic matter or organic fertilizer is the best for the plants, I am also proven and use that kind of fertilizer. ☺️
This is really lovely. Compose manure is the best. The crop you will plants here will really looks fresh. Weldone boss
Yeeeeh, I gotta take pics of the grass before and after the compost