Composters

The chickens have also moved out of the barn. They are currently being employed in the new terraces of the orchard.

We have three more terraces started in the forest garden. We've put in the rock retaining walls, backfilled with branches and manure (high organic matter makes for great water storage as well as fertile soil). We are now in the process of improving the soil.

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We have set up cages made out of lathing. We fill them with the manure that we clean out of the barn, as well as any scraps, viscera and so on. We also add hay and other carbon materials to balance out the nitrogen. We then leave each cage to compost a little. The chickens get on top and around the sides to catch any bugs fleeing the rising heat of the compost. Once it cools down a little, more insects will breed and we will then open the cage up. The chickens will then spread the wonderful soil around the terraces as they dig for bugs.

We've only just started this compost and bug tractor, so we can't really say how it works yet, but we'll keep you posted as we get results.

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Composters