I keep these two containers on the counter most of the time. The yogurt dish with a lid is for treats for the hens. Any scraps from food preparation, spoiled foods or compost we know the girls like, gets put into that dish and fed to the girls every morning. Every morning they wait by their door for you to let them out and get their treats. I try not to drink coffee, I have the odd cup here and there, although my boyfriend usually has a cup in the morning. We keep the coffee grinds for the blueberry and strawberry plants. They both enjoy acidic soil and the grinds make a great mulch. After using them for several years, it would seem as if both plants enjoy the grinds. The remaining compost goes into our pile outdoors. There's many reasons to make your own compost. Firstly, it's so cost effective. A bag of compost or soil is not exactly cheap. Backyard compost is free. You do not really know what your bought compost could consist of. Plant matter from genetically modified plants may have been used to make the compost. Pesticides may have been used on plants in large or small quantities. We use certified organic seeds to grow our veggies and we certainly do not use pesticides. We compost leaves, grass clippings, chicken manure and seaweed along with the food and garden scraps. The compost adds up really quickly and is usually ready to use about a year after you started the pile. Leaving a bit of old compost in a pile and adding new debris to that will accelerate the decomposition process, we do not ever completely empty a compost.
The girls are quite happy to help with the compost. They jump in on their own and start scratching for worms and other tasty treats, tearing the compost to smaller bits and pieces in the process. Turning the compost manually also helps but is not really necessary.
Those girls are invaluable.
ReplyDeleteYou're telling me! I just have to keep providing them with jobs that suit their nature.
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