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| Manure Muffins Slow Cooking: If I had left a little more space between them, I could have had a neat little carriage driving obstacle... |
The stalls in my rented former dairy barn are concrete and slightly sloped. I use wood shavings as cushion and the corn cob pellets for absorbency. Where the horses usually pee, I cover with a dusting of the Corn Cob Pellets and pile the shavings over the top. The horses rearrange the wood shavings where they want them, but the pellets stay in place. I have found that the pellets absorb the urine like a sponge and hold it better than the shavings alone, which act rather more like a paper towel in absorbing the urine, soiling more bedding. As the Corn Cob Pellet Bag claims: Use Less Bedding. Hurray.
I know that wood shavings tie up more nitrogen in the soil than they deliver while composting, but the particulars were beyond me, so I contacted James A Fawcett, Ph.D., Field Agronomist with ISU Extension to enlighten me on the Wood Shavings vs. Corn Cob Pellets Tournament of Composting. He said, "While the carbon source (wood chips) is being broken down, the bacteria need nitrogen to function so the N is not available for plants [on which the un-composted manure is spread] until the carbon source is decomposed and then the bacteria die and release the N back into the environment. The composting would not be as important with the corn pellets as with wood chips, but after the composting process the N would be available faster than if the bedding (corn pellets) is applied directly to the field. I believe the C:N ratio in bacteria is about 30:1, so any carbon source with a C:N ratio higher than this will temporarily tie up some nitrogen. Grass clippings are one of the few carbon sources that will not tie up any N as it breaks down since the material already has enough N for the bacteria."
To further explain, he told me, " Bedding materials with a high C:N ratio ties up N in the soil and/or manure until the bacteria break down the carbon source ( wood chips). I assume corn pellets are made from corn cobs and/or stalks. They would have a C:N ratio of about 60:1 compared to 200+:1 for the wood chips, so there would be less of a problem with using up the nitrogen."
You can see from the eminent Dr. Agronomy's explanation what effect putting raw manure has on your hay field. Using the Corn Cob Pellets decreases your carbon footprint by a whole lot of shoe sizes. Composting eliminates the footprint altogether.
I have noticed that my baby manure pile, not quite to the composting size, is already smoking away, much hotter than normal. I suspect the Corn Cob Pellets of adding more heat to the sh!t pile. If my suspicions are correct, it should take less time to turn into Compost Gold.
Composting is easy. You make a pile of manure [in the shade is best], spread it out to be about four foot high by four foot wide, with a nice flat top and let Nature Mama do the rest. Sure, you can turn it, but unless you have a skid loader or tractor [Santa Baby, I've been an Awfully Good Girl], but you really can skip this step. In 6-9 months you have helped give birth to black gold compost. The joy of new life for your garden, hay field, for whatever you need fertile earth.
You don't need to be a radical hippy, tree hugging environmentalist to compost. It makes cents. Spreading raw manure on your hay field will reduce yield/quality. Composting will increase yield/quality. Using the Corn Cob Bedding will reduce bedding costs. Win. And. Another Win. If you don't have Corn Cob Pellets as a local alternate bedding supply, look for another. I once knew a gal who used sunflower shells from a local oil producer.
Local Bedding Supply and Composting: Fun! Easy! Good Stewardship! Makes You Happy!
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
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