A couple of questions...

I'm about to start my first compost heap and I have a couple of questions. The sticky at the top says don't add too much in the way of wood shavings, how much would you say is ok? My chooks are bedded on shavings so there's quite a lot available. Also, is putting in ashes from the fire a good idea? I will be burning a mixture of coal and wood. Would the odd horse poo help or hinder the process? I could bring some home from the yard with me. Finally, should I really pee on it???? Does that actually help or are you all in on some long running joke I don't know about . If pee does help, does it not smell really bad? My compost heap is in the middle of my garden.
Thanks for your help!

 

Hi Lindsay and welcome to Gardeners Corner

Wood shavings will rob the heap of nitrogen so go easy on them or stack them for 3 months before adding to the heap. Wee will add nitrogen and help a lot in the composting process, its ok, its not a joke

Saying that, i've just re read your post and saw its from chickens, so thats ok, good source of nitrogen again.

Just make sure you layer it, dry stuff like crumpled cardboard, green stuff, chicken poo, kitchen waste and so on.

If you include the crumpled cardboard, leave it open to the rain.

 

Hi Lindsay.

You should be ok using wood shavings in your compost heap, especially if there's chicken poo mixed in with them, which will help to activate the composting process more quickly.

I use the wood shavings from my chicken hut in the compost heap, as long as you regularly alternate between shavings and other material in thin layers it should work fine. I'd say anything up to half the contents can be shavings and you'll still get good results.

It's probably better not to put the ashes in your compost if you're burning coal, as I think I'm right in saying coal ash contains some chemicals which are detrimental to plants. Wood ash on its own is probably ok though.

And yes, human urine is great for speeding up the composting process, as well as containing some useful plant nutrients. Any smells are soon absorbed by the material in the compost heap, unless you're adding gallons of the stuff at a time it shouldn't be a problem.

 

Coal ash contains metals and it's probably best not to use coal ash in compost unless in very small quantanties, as the metals may be taken up by plants. There are though some studies that suggest that use of coal ash increases yields but the studies don't investigate the implications regarding human consumption.
The use of ash from treated timber also may present a health hazard.

 

Thanks guys, that's exactly what I needed to know. Most helpful!