We could virtually eliminate 1) trips to the gym, 2) so many trips to the grocery for high priced, low nutrient dense veggies, 3) illnesses, 4) stress induced mental issues, etc. if we all participated in the soul lifting activity that is organic gardening. Just the sheer benefit of being outdoors, watching mother nature perform, increasing one's self confidence, and not to forget that earthy fragrance of mature compost are worth every second spent. ORGANIC GARDENING IS DOPE! Kuddos for all the tips and tricks. I never tire of learning more about my favorite hobby.
As if everyone had a backyard big enough for gardening. As if everyone had a sum of cash big enough to rent someone else's land close enough to justify the commute time.
Also I garden in woodchips - about 3 inches. Many people worry about woodchips - however if you do not mix them with the soil they are incredible. They reduce the amount of compost you need by 70% - they break down into compost. They reduce watering requirements by 70-80%. Add manure over the top occasionally, then more wood chips. I pull them back, create a hole, then compost and seedling. You can direct so into fresh potting mix as well. You need a a decent amount of chips. Wood chips will also remove many sorts of bugs as they will not go across them (snails in particular) while other mulches actually provide a home for ear wigs etc. Chips wont.
I appreciate how concise, focused, and clear this is. There are some great gardeners on YT, but a video will be titled “How to start a no-till garden” and then turn out to be a guy wandering around his garden, talking about whatever he stumbles up on the way. It’s not helpful at all when you want to learn something specific. Subscribing!
I'm a city dweller. My dream is to afford a house one day to work on that beautiful cycle of life. The idea of creating a self sustainable system that is not exploiting nature is very appealing to me. Not to mention that being an office worker, having activities outside would work wonders for mental health.
That’s a great dream! I can personally say that moving from an inner city apartment to where I am now has been very rewarding, particularly in being able to, as you say, participate in the cycle of life :)
Like your system, just a couple of tips from an old fella who's been inI.Horticulture for 40 years. You can buy online an Oregon bushcutter blade called a mulching blade. It's got downward wings that chop. Not for the faint hearted but fantastic for shredding prunings to 25mm to compost size, and unlike an expensive mulcher can handle wet material. And way better than trying to use a mower. A mulch fork is also handy if you've got the strength. It's like shovelling with a front end loader . Finally, when it comes to turning your commy try a post hole auger. You can get battery ones these days that are really light to use. It's super quick once you get the action right. Personally l don't make much commy these days. Just get the mulching blade on my Sthil kombi brush cutter. Shred the crop residue and rotary hoe it all back in.
thanks so much for these tips! I'm very interested in using the mulching blade because I don't have a mulcher (so expensive) and have a lot of woody prunings that I don't know what to do with. I suppose you'd need to do it within a compost bay or something so the prunings don't go flying everywhere?
@@timmcintyre3066 to note, you need the brushcutter as well, not just the blade. That could be expensive (mines second hand). Then there's the question, do i need to burn fossil fuels to run this mulcher or can i afford to be a patient?
This is identical to my system. A few variations. My sifter is twice as long - I lean it against the fence. I never sift for the garden - it actually likes the large bits. But do for pots. I make piles that are twice as big - a full load of coffee, plus a trailer of wood. I also use a trailer of horse manure which is easily sourced. For seedlings try breaking down autumn leaves in large wet piles - I use cages of wire, watered. Takes 12 months and produces leaf mold which is incredible and fine.
Thanks for all your very thoughtful comments! A lot of knowledge and experience there. Also cool to hear that you have a similar composting setup! I am experimenting with a bed covered in wood chips this summer so we’ll see how we go. My only concern at this stage is that on hot days the wood chips get a lot hotter than straw mulch but maybe they’ll keep moisture in the soil for longer.
@@ben.strong Give it a go!. The wood chips act as a giant sponge - they will soak up huge amounts of water and release it as needed. Its actually really quite cool as the heat can not penetrate to the soil. They also provide a permanent source of fresh food as they break down. Just ensure that the wood chips are not encouraging thermophillic bacteria. I started down the wood chips route after watch this guy called Gauchi almost 15 years now.
@@ben.strong Also I keep bees and they will go after you if they do not know who you are. The more you deal with them the less they worry. Buy a "half suit" known as an observers suit.
Here is the guy. He is a religious preacher which I struggle with, however his work is good. I think he got PTSD or something. He released all these videos called back to Eden, but they are missing now behind a paywall. ruclips.net/video/MCy0B5eW74I/видео.html
Excellent video. I have started collecting cow dung and donkey droppings in the bush near where i live for just over a month now. I collect anywhere from 2 to 6 buckets a day within a radius of 500m from my home - there is way more further afield. I have a small pile composting already(with kitchen scraps), which I turn once a week and keep it covered with a spare roofing sheet. I intend to start another composting pile next week. In the meantime, I make cow dung compost tea which I use for watering my garden once a week. i will add some leaves to the 2nd compost pile, and possibly add rabbit and chicken droppings too.
Sounds like you're very resourceful! And that sounds like a great source of fertility. Compost tea is a great way to stretch the use of compost, well done!
@@ben.strong Thanks. I learned that one can add a few things to the compost tea like urine, borax, activated charcoal and Epsom salts, etc. I had a plot that spinach was struggling to grow on last year,. I applied this mixture added to goat manure tea on the plot a few times last year. This year, the spinach is growing so much quicker and bigger on the plot. I am now preparing the mixture for application all over the yard where i intend to have plants.
Beautiful video Ben and partner in the garden, your sketches are fabulous, as is your garden. Wishing you all the best for your career! I hope you get to help other people build useful and beautiful spaces as you have done xx
Nice video. Very interesting. I couldnt bothered to keep moving the compost heap around though. I let nature do all the hard work. Vermicomposting. I supplement my compost with loads of leaf mold. A great soil conditioner even though its not high in nutrients. I make a fertiliser compost tea and so far my plants, shrubs and trees are responding well.
I make slightly over 12 yards of compost using 0.8 acre of grass. You can do it but you need a subcompact tractor with a grass-catcher & a loader to flip the pile.
I like your "A" frame sifting. I have the same screen set up, but I put the screen over a wheel barrow and sift the material into the wheel barrow. The items that are too large to fall through the screen I have to dump. I place this material into the beginning pile to be recycled.
Yeah nice, I used to do it that way too, but I found it too slow and hard work having to shake the frame to get everything to pass through. The angle of the A frame really helps with that. Thanks for watching!
Excellent Video Ben. I am an old gardener with no much strength. (So your Nonna’s idea works for me.) Keep your ideas coming, I always like to hear of alternative methods.
It's been a long time since your last video, so it's great to see you back. Really appreciate the local content, I'm in the SE suburbs. I've just started composing a pile of woodchips layered with horse poo & old straw. It's only a couple of months old, so a way to go yet. Thanks for the video 👍
I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this video. This should up my composting and encourage my use of my little chicken turners in the process. I have always worried that the coffee grounds and the molds in this process would make the chickens sick if they got in and dug around, yet yours look fine. Starting the process change this week. Thank you!
Wonderful video with a very cheerful young man with great drawing to make it so easy to understand. a lot of work though. Thank you for sharing your plan and know how.
Hi Ben, we’ve just discovered your channel and I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed your video. We’re also backyard gardeners in Melbourne with a love of compost, and your style and delivery of video is exactly what we appreciate. Please keep up the good work and we’ll tell all our like minded friends to subscribe too.
Great video! One good thing to mention would be the measurements of the compost piles/spaces that you are using to get your 10 cubic yards of compost. Thanks!
Thanks! Yeah for sure, the space I have is about 6x8m, but probably about a third of that is not used for making compost. Each pile I make is roughly 1 cubic metre and I make about 10 per year. The piles you saw on screen were a little smaller than usual, but you get the idea :)
You could upgrade your sifter by putting it only at a slight angle and adding a wood shoot at the one end and attaching a cement mixer motor at the other end. Much of what’s falling into your basket may have been able to be sifted further. This type of motor can withstand the forces. My only issue now is that it’s so powerful that sometimes the metal wire shears.
Sounds like a fun project! I actually find that if I get the compost the right moisture level and the A frame at the right angle I get a really good sift. Thanks for watching :)
Это очень интересно и дает понять, как можно использовать куриц в подготовке компоста. Это не всегда поможет, если их нет. Но мне нравится Ваше желание разобраться во взаимосвязях различных процессов. И я рад, что Вы этим поделились.
Who knew the chickens had a 'tireless work ethic'. Very funny. Thanks for the great content. I personally would take the chunks that you sifted out and leave them on top of the good soil. That can act as mulch to keep moisture in the garden beds if it stays on top.
Loved this video, Ben. I'd love to become buds with you if possible since we're both around the same size garden youtubers. If not, I totally respect it, but you have a cool thing going on here and I love the vibes.
Hey thanks mate! glad you enjoyed it, and nice to hear from a fellow youtuber/ gardener :) I've subscribed to your channel and look forward to following your journey!
I knew you were Australian just from the word "heaps" in the title 😅🤙🏼 thanks for this incredibly informative video! Just started our gardening/composting/homestead journey 😌
When you start looking for 'free' organic material, keep in mind that if you're in an area with lots of gardeners, most of the 'free' sources will be tapped out, and you may be in the position of buying organic inputs. Hope is not gone, but you will have to scrounge and be ready to jump on free offerings, while also being prepared to do a lot of hand labor to collect those offerings.
great point! It can also take a while to find free sources of organic material, it took me ages to learn about the free mulch and coffee ground services.
if you have friend who work in beverages cafe you can ask them for the pineapple waste from press juice machine. this fruit waste will boost your compost breakdown.
The main problem with hot composting is that there is a lot of carbon lost under the CO2 gas produced by the thermophiles bacteria. Nature does not hot compost organic matter but it composts it in a cold way which keep a lot more carbon in the soil. So if you can simply spread your organic matter in your garden then you will loose a lot less carbon. These organic matters will act as a perfect mulch into your garden while it is slowly composting. However if you have too much organic matter then you can do hot composting.
Great comment! I totally agree that this is something to consider when hot composting, and why you don't want your pile too hot! Losing nitrogen is also an issue. I think this is particularly pronounced for 18 day compost where the pile stays hot for many days in a row. My piles usually only stay hot for 4-5 days and then slowly cool down. But I find this intial heat really helps get the process started.
@@ben.strong I just wanted people to understand that to better use the organic matter is preferable to compost like nature does before to do hot composting because it is sad to think that we are wasting a lot of great carbon for our soil by hot composting. Besides hot composting adds greenhouse gas.
It's a journey! And in my opinion you only learn it by doing it! It's trial and error to find the right balance of materials, moisture etc, and soon enough you will find what works :)
Love the A-frame idea. I would love to compost like this but space limits me and I am not keen on rodents so can't give chickens too many scraps. We do have deep litter in our run though and we use that to top up beds when it needs replacing.
Thanks for watching! One thing I didn't say in the video is that I think you could do a similar system in a smaller space by turning the piles back and forth rather than in one direction, but it all depends on what works for you :) A deep litter system is also a good way to make compost. Happy growing!
How do you prevent rats from the compost piles? I got a whole family of huge rats! They even invaded my garage and made a huge mess there. I had to dump tons of stored goods in there.
That doesn’t sound ideal! The short answer is I don’t do anything to prevent them. They are not a huge problem for me as I think local cats moderate their population. My compost area is not very close to my house and I don’t mind if I see a few rats in the backyard.
The chickens will eat the rats or if they don’t they will keep them away from the compost. They probably invaded your garage because it’s an easy place to nest. I reckon having the compost cohabitating with the chooks, rats wouldn’t be encouraged to the compost but rather deterred.
Hi, thank you so much for the information. Really help me to understand more about composting. I have a question. Is sifting important. I mean, is it possible to use the compost without sifting. And another question is what you do to the unbroken material that come from the sifting process, did you compost it again with new raw material? Thank you so much for your time answering my question. Keep it up sharing good information. Have a nice day
Thanks for the question :) I was actually going to talk about this in the video but it was getting too long. You don't have to sift, it's perfectly fine to use the compost as is. The first reason I sift is because I often have large sticks left in the pile that I don't want to put on my garden beds. The second is that I use my compost to start seedlings in trays, for which you need a really fine compost. The material that gets sifted out either goes back to the start of the composting process, or I spread it on garden pathways as a coarser much.
If it is a hot compost does it matter if the fungi (Wood high carbon potion) does not like to be moved often, as it is not a cold (Fungi) compost anyways, but rather a hot Bacterial compost? Would you not be better off to have a hot compost pile (Bacterial) and a separate Cold (Fungi) pile? From my understanding Trees like more cold fungi compost and Vegetables like more Hot (bacteria) compost. However if you mix the two finished composts together you get even more diversity of fungi and bacteria. Thoughts? 🤔
The thing to understand is that the pile starts off hot, and it will be more bacterially dominated, but then it cools down. Once it cools down, then the fungi moves in, and does a lot of work to break down the wood chips. The woody material doesn’t really break down at all during the hot period.
@@ben.strong Generally I think a leaf or wood chip dominated compost pile is mostly Carbon and may never heat up like a compost pile with a higher nitrogen ratio. (a high carbon pile might heat up) A cold compost that does not heat up will be dominated by Fungi. But as you say the hot compost is leagues quicker and the fungi will move in to break down the carbon wood chips later after the heat is gone.
Wanted to clarify: after you pile it up and cover it with the tarp, do you leave it covered with the tarp for 1-2 months until you are ready to turn it?
Thanks so much! It’s two very simple timber frames (four pieces of timber) with welded mesh (also called hardware cloth depending on where you’re from) screwed onto them. If you pause the video you’ll see I used some thin bits of timber on top of the welded mesh to clamp it in place. Then I just used a door hinge to join the two frames together. I would recommend using two hinges to make it more stable.
Great video thanks. Where did you get your mesh and how much did it cost? I’ve priced mesh at Bunnings and it was sooo expensive. Perhaps I only looked at the expensive gear.
I’ve bought mesh from Bunnings and mitre 10, I can’t remember which one I bought it from for the sifter, but yeah it’s a bit of a rip off. I think I probably bought 2 600x900 sheets for 50-60 bucks
Are the chickens only scratching through it in the first phase? Can you clarify how they are reacting after you cover it? I guess I am confused at what stages the chickens are involved when I see you covering the piles. Great video though! Thanks for the insight!
Thanks for the question :) The chickens get access to all the material when I first dump it into the area, and they can eat what they want. Then when I build a pile with that material, I cover it with a tarp. at which point they can no longer access it. They don't mind because I give them areas to free range. When I turn the pile, they get really excited and scratch through it whilst I'm turning and usually find worms and bugs. But I cover it again once I have finished turning, so that it can decompose (and so that the worm population can grow). When the pile is finished, I let them scratch through it one more time to pick out worms, I don't need the worms in the compost at that point, and they just get in the way when sifting and using it for seedlings. So the chickens are an integral part, but their involvement needs to be controlled to get the best results. Hope this helps!
Good question! I pretty much add it whenever I have time 😂 it usually ends up being mostly in spring because I make most compost in winter, but also between crops.
Great video! My compost style is lazy composting. It attracts too much mosquitoes, flies and particularly gnats. Is that normal? Besides, do you use special chemicals in your garden to avoid insects and pests? Because i never see them in garden videos on RUclips.
Hey thanks! I think gnats and flies are pretty normal, especially if some of the material is still fresh. Mosquitoes I only usually find to be a problem if there's a body of water around, however small (a bucket of water for example), because they need it to breed. A compost pile shouldn't be attracting them unless it's really wet. No I don't use any chemicals for pests in my garden, I use physical barriers (like netting), and try to create the conditions for my plants to be as healthy as possible so that they can naturally resist pests on their own.
Great video! I have access to plenty of manure, but am worried about broad spectrum herbicides have been used in the feed. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thank you!
Thanks! Yeah that’s a tricky one, given this seems to be such a prevalent issue. If you can’t verify what the animals have eaten or what bedding has been used then I would be careful, you can always do a test with a small area or in containers to test how plants respond
Glad you enjoyed it :) We do want worms in the compost, they are great! But they are also great for food for the chooks. And when I sift the compost, the worms get stuck in the mesh and its really annoying haha, so I prefer that the chickens eat them.
Hey happy to help! The company I have used for the coffee grounds is called Reground. I get wood chips from my local transfer station in Moonee Valley, but you have to live in the area (they ask for ID). But Merribek council have a mulch pile out the front of their transfer station on the street where I've gotten mulch from too.
I do put bones in my compost yes, but beware that they do break down quite slowly. The second question is difficult to answer because it depends on a lot of things, like how big your pile will be, if its in a tumbler or on the ground, whether you care about attracting animals etc. At the end of the day if it's come from a living organism it can probably be composted, but composting is all about balance, you don't want too much of any one ingredient.
We could virtually eliminate 1) trips to the gym, 2) so many trips to the grocery for high priced, low nutrient dense veggies, 3) illnesses, 4) stress induced mental issues, etc. if we all participated in the soul lifting activity that is organic gardening. Just the sheer benefit of being outdoors, watching mother nature perform, increasing one's self confidence, and not to forget that earthy fragrance of mature compost are worth every second spent. ORGANIC GARDENING IS DOPE! Kuddos for all the tips and tricks. I never tire of learning more about my favorite hobby.
Couldn't have said it better myself!
Yes but you really have to go outside and do it!
Well said!! 👏🏻👏🏻
As if everyone had a backyard big enough for gardening. As if everyone had a sum of cash big enough to rent someone else's land close enough to justify the commute time.
I could watch the sketching all day
Naw thanks Jess!
Also I garden in woodchips - about 3 inches. Many people worry about woodchips - however if you do not mix them with the soil they are incredible. They reduce the amount of compost you need by 70% - they break down into compost. They reduce watering requirements by 70-80%. Add manure over the top occasionally, then more wood chips. I pull them back, create a hole, then compost and seedling. You can direct so into fresh potting mix as well. You need a a decent amount of chips. Wood chips will also remove many sorts of bugs as they will not go across them (snails in particular) while other mulches actually provide a home for ear wigs etc. Chips wont.
I appreciate how concise, focused, and clear this is. There are some great gardeners on YT, but a video will be titled “How to start a no-till garden” and then turn out to be a guy wandering around his garden, talking about whatever he stumbles up on the way. It’s not helpful at all when you want to learn something specific. Subscribing!
Thanks so much for this feedback, this is what I'm trying to so I'm glad this is how you feel!
And here's another subscriber for you! @@ben.strong❤
@@ben.strongI agree! Such a well structured informative video! Also I love finding a fellow Aussie garden RUclipsr. 🌱 subscribed!
Agreed.
I'm a city dweller. My dream is to afford a house one day to work on that beautiful cycle of life. The idea of creating a self sustainable system that is not exploiting nature is very appealing to me. Not to mention that being an office worker, having activities outside would work wonders for mental health.
That’s a great dream! I can personally say that moving from an inner city apartment to where I am now has been very rewarding, particularly in being able to, as you say, participate in the cycle of life :)
The A-frame is a fantastic idea! Thank you for sharing.
Also, as a fellow architecture comrade, your sketching style is beautiful 👌
Great to hear from a fellow architect! No worries and thanks for your kind words!
Like your system, just a couple of tips from an old fella who's been inI.Horticulture for 40 years.
You can buy online an Oregon bushcutter blade called a mulching blade. It's got downward wings that chop. Not for the faint hearted but fantastic for shredding prunings to 25mm to compost size, and unlike an expensive mulcher can handle wet material. And way better than trying to use a mower.
A mulch fork is also handy if you've got the strength. It's like shovelling with a front end loader .
Finally, when it comes to turning your commy try a post hole auger. You can get battery ones these days that are really light to use. It's super quick once you get the action right.
Personally l don't make much commy these days. Just get the mulching blade on my Sthil kombi brush cutter. Shred the crop residue and rotary hoe it all back in.
thanks so much for these tips! I'm very interested in using the mulching blade because I don't have a mulcher (so expensive) and have a lot of woody prunings that I don't know what to do with. I suppose you'd need to do it within a compost bay or something so the prunings don't go flying everywhere?
@ben.strong no worries, you'll find the blades on Aus. Amazon @$70. The three wing is better than the twin.
@@timmcintyre3066 to note, you need the brushcutter as well, not just the blade. That could be expensive (mines second hand). Then there's the question, do i need to burn fossil fuels to run this mulcher or can i afford to be a patient?
The best composting video on the internet. THANKS
Wow! Glad you enjoyed it thanks so much :)
The best, I agree!!
This is identical to my system. A few variations. My sifter is twice as long - I lean it against the fence. I never sift for the garden - it actually likes the large bits. But do for pots.
I make piles that are twice as big - a full load of coffee, plus a trailer of wood. I also use a trailer of horse manure which is easily sourced.
For seedlings try breaking down autumn leaves in large wet piles - I use cages of wire, watered. Takes 12 months and produces leaf mold which is incredible and fine.
Thanks for all your very thoughtful comments! A lot of knowledge and experience there. Also cool to hear that you have a similar composting setup! I am experimenting with a bed covered in wood chips this summer so we’ll see how we go. My only concern at this stage is that on hot days the wood chips get a lot hotter than straw mulch but maybe they’ll keep moisture in the soil for longer.
@@ben.strong Give it a go!. The wood chips act as a giant sponge - they will soak up huge amounts of water and release it as needed. Its actually really quite cool as the heat can not penetrate to the soil. They also provide a permanent source of fresh food as they break down. Just ensure that the wood chips are not encouraging thermophillic bacteria. I started down the wood chips route after watch this guy called Gauchi almost 15 years now.
@@ben.strong Also I keep bees and they will go after you if they do not know who you are. The more you deal with them the less they worry. Buy a "half suit" known as an observers suit.
Here is the guy. He is a religious preacher which I struggle with, however his work is good. I think he got PTSD or something. He released all these videos called back to Eden, but they are missing now behind a paywall. ruclips.net/video/MCy0B5eW74I/видео.html
Looks great! Oh to be young and energetic again.
Great to find some awesome Aussie content 👌 😊🌱
Hey thanks very much! We do what we can, glad you enjoyed it :) happy growing!
Excellent video.
I have started collecting cow dung and donkey droppings in the bush near where i live for just over a month now. I collect anywhere from 2 to 6 buckets a day within a radius of 500m from my home - there is way more further afield. I have a small pile composting already(with kitchen scraps), which I turn once a week and keep it covered with a spare roofing sheet. I intend to start another composting pile next week. In the meantime, I make cow dung compost tea which I use for watering my garden once a week. i will add some leaves to the 2nd compost pile, and possibly add rabbit and chicken droppings too.
Sounds like you're very resourceful! And that sounds like a great source of fertility. Compost tea is a great way to stretch the use of compost, well done!
@@ben.strong Thanks. I learned that one can add a few things to the compost tea like urine, borax, activated charcoal and Epsom salts, etc. I had a plot that spinach was struggling to grow on last year,. I applied this mixture added to goat manure tea on the plot a few times last year. This year, the spinach is growing so much quicker and bigger on the plot.
I am now preparing the mixture for application all over the yard where i intend to have plants.
Beautiful video Ben and partner in the garden, your sketches are fabulous, as is your garden. Wishing you all the best for your career! I hope you get to help other people build useful and beautiful spaces as you have done xx
Thanks very much for your kind words Cindy! Glad you enjoyed the video :)
Nice video. Very interesting.
I couldnt bothered to keep moving the compost heap around though. I let nature do all the hard work. Vermicomposting.
I supplement my compost with loads of leaf mold. A great soil conditioner even though its not high in nutrients.
I make a fertiliser compost tea and so far my plants, shrubs and trees are responding well.
Thanks for watching :) I agree that letting nature do the hard work is the way to go! Happy growing :)
I make slightly over 12 yards of compost using 0.8 acre of grass. You can do it but you need a subcompact tractor with a grass-catcher & a loader to flip the pile.
Woah that’s a lot of compost!
I like your "A" frame sifting. I have the same screen set up, but I put the screen over a wheel barrow and sift the material into the wheel barrow. The items that are too large to fall through the screen I have to dump. I place this material into the beginning pile to be recycled.
Yeah nice, I used to do it that way too, but I found it too slow and hard work having to shake the frame to get everything to pass through. The angle of the A frame really helps with that. Thanks for watching!
Excellent Video Ben. I am an old gardener with no much strength. (So your Nonna’s idea works for me.) Keep your ideas coming, I always like to hear of alternative methods.
Thanks so much! I will try to keep the ideas coming :)
It's been a long time since your last video, so it's great to see you back. Really appreciate the local content, I'm in the SE suburbs. I've just started composing a pile of woodchips layered with horse poo & old straw. It's only a couple of months old, so a way to go yet. Thanks for the video 👍
Hey that’s great to hear! thanks for watching and all the best with your pile!
I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this video. This should up my composting and encourage my use of my little chicken turners in the process. I have always worried that the coffee grounds and the molds in this process would make the chickens sick if they got in and dug around, yet yours look fine. Starting the process change this week. Thank you!
Awesome! Yes I haven't had any issues with the coffee grounds, its a great resource if you can get your hands on some!
Agreed the no till mob are a pain on the butt!
Very good explanation - we've also had great luck with chicken composting. Good work gathering those "waste" materials for the garden as well.
Thanks so much David! Love your channel so means a lot!
Great to see your set-up Ben, looks awesome. Great editing as well; love the diagrams and behind the scenes footage, you're a trooper! 😂
Thanks so much! Haha yes it was a struggle but we got there, thanks for watching!
Great to see some organic gardening videos made in Melbourne! I'd love to see a video on your irrigation set up.
Glad I can deliver on the Melbourne content! You’re not the first person to ask about irrigation, so I’ll see what I can do
Watching from Bangladesh ❤
Thanks for watching :)
Wonderful video with a very cheerful young man with great drawing to make it so easy to understand. a lot of work though. Thank you for sharing your plan and know how.
Great tips thank you, I am new to this channel, but subscribed and thumbs up 😊
Thank you sir! Glad you got something out of it :)
Hi Ben, we’ve just discovered your channel and I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed your video.
We’re also backyard gardeners in Melbourne with a love of compost, and your style and delivery of video is exactly what we appreciate.
Please keep up the good work and we’ll tell all our like minded friends to subscribe too.
Wow that’s so nice, great to hear from some Melbourne gardeners too! Thanks heaps for watching and for spreading the word :)
Excellent stuff! This is great inspiration for our new chicken coup. Keen to see more videos from you!
Glad to hear it! more videos are on the way!
Great video! One good thing to mention would be the measurements of the compost piles/spaces that you are using to get your 10 cubic yards of compost. Thanks!
Thanks! Yeah for sure, the space I have is about 6x8m, but probably about a third of that is not used for making compost. Each pile I make is roughly 1 cubic metre and I make about 10 per year. The piles you saw on screen were a little smaller than usual, but you get the idea :)
Thanks for an excellent and practical video
You’re welcome! Hope you got something out of it :)
Great system. Multiple systems. Well thought out.
Thanks so much!
I tapped the thumbs up 👍 button to feed the algorithm monsters....
Haha thank you!
Lovely!
Geoff Lawton produces 1 cubic metre of compost per week using cickens
You could upgrade your sifter by putting it only at a slight angle and adding a wood shoot at the one end and attaching a cement mixer motor at the other end. Much of what’s falling into your basket may have been able to be sifted further. This type of motor can withstand the forces. My only issue now is that it’s so powerful that sometimes the metal wire shears.
Sounds like a fun project! I actually find that if I get the compost the right moisture level and the A frame at the right angle I get a really good sift. Thanks for watching :)
Это очень интересно и дает понять, как можно использовать куриц в подготовке компоста. Это не всегда поможет, если их нет. Но мне нравится Ваше желание разобраться во взаимосвязях различных процессов. И я рад, что Вы этим поделились.
Thanks very much! I think you can do a similar system without chickens, but they certainly help :)
Who knew the chickens had a 'tireless work ethic'. Very funny. Thanks for the great content. I personally would take the chunks that you sifted out and leave them on top of the good soil. That can act as mulch to keep moisture in the garden beds if it stays on top.
Thanks for watching! Yeah that's definitely a good way to do it too, I'll often do that on my perennial beds.
Great video and really enjoyed the summary at the end. Thank you!
Thank you! glad you liked it :)
Thanks for all the good info and keep up the good work!
Thank you!
Loved this video, Ben. I'd love to become buds with you if possible since we're both around the same size garden youtubers. If not, I totally respect it, but you have a cool thing going on here and I love the vibes.
Hey thanks mate! glad you enjoyed it, and nice to hear from a fellow youtuber/ gardener :) I've subscribed to your channel and look forward to following your journey!
I knew you were Australian just from the word "heaps" in the title 😅🤙🏼 thanks for this incredibly informative video! Just started our gardening/composting/homestead journey 😌
Haha, I didn't realise that was such a giveaway! No worries, glad you found it helpful :)
Excellent presentation.
Thanks very much!
Subscribing just because I can see the effort put into the video.
Thanks a lot :)
When you start looking for 'free' organic material, keep in mind that if you're in an area with lots of gardeners, most of the 'free' sources will be tapped out, and you may be in the position of buying organic inputs. Hope is not gone, but you will have to scrounge and be ready to jump on free offerings, while also being prepared to do a lot of hand labor to collect those offerings.
great point! It can also take a while to find free sources of organic material, it took me ages to learn about the free mulch and coffee ground services.
Nice one! Love moving the compost down the hill, great content!
Hey thanks so much! Yeah moving it down the hill certainly makes things easier :)
This was very helpful!
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
if you have friend who work in beverages cafe you can ask them for the pineapple waste from press juice machine. this fruit waste will boost your compost breakdown.
The chicken is super Helpful! ❤🎉
They really are!
Water falls from the sky where you live? Seems like magic to me
This video is really well done! Only thing that disappointed me was when I went to your channel and only saw 5 videos😂! I hope you keep making more!!!
Wow, I couldn’t ask for a nicer comment, thanks so much! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it. And yes, plenty more videos to come!
The main problem with hot composting is that there is a lot of carbon lost under the CO2 gas produced by the thermophiles bacteria. Nature does not hot compost organic matter but it composts it in a cold way which keep a lot more carbon in the soil. So if you can simply spread your organic matter in your garden then you will loose a lot less carbon. These organic matters will act as a perfect mulch into your garden while it is slowly composting. However if you have too much organic matter then you can do hot composting.
Great comment! I totally agree that this is something to consider when hot composting, and why you don't want your pile too hot! Losing nitrogen is also an issue. I think this is particularly pronounced for 18 day compost where the pile stays hot for many days in a row. My piles usually only stay hot for 4-5 days and then slowly cool down. But I find this intial heat really helps get the process started.
@@ben.strong I just wanted people to understand that to better use the organic matter is preferable to compost like nature does before to do hot composting because it is sad to think that we are wasting a lot of great carbon for our soil by hot composting. Besides hot composting adds greenhouse gas.
amazing quality content keep it up
Thanks, will do!
"I'm an architect" 🎉🎉🎉
Gotta use what you got ;)
Great video! Very informative 😊
thanks very much!
Great videos. We haven’t managed to crack the compost code yet
It's a journey! And in my opinion you only learn it by doing it! It's trial and error to find the right balance of materials, moisture etc, and soon enough you will find what works :)
I like your content style. Your channel will grow quickly Im sure. Best of luck
Thanks so much!
Love it bro! Love your vibe too thanks for sharing!
Glad to hear it! thanks for watching :)
That is really great
Thanks :)
good video!
very informative
Brilliant video! Cheers from Norway
Thanks very much! Happy gardening from across the globe :)
Thanks for the video.
No worries Jane, thanks for watching!
Love the A-frame idea. I would love to compost like this but space limits me and I am not keen on rodents so can't give chickens too many scraps. We do have deep litter in our run though and we use that to top up beds when it needs replacing.
Thanks for watching! One thing I didn't say in the video is that I think you could do a similar system in a smaller space by turning the piles back and forth rather than in one direction, but it all depends on what works for you :) A deep litter system is also a good way to make compost. Happy growing!
Hi Ben, awesome video! Have you done any courses in permaculture or sustainable living?
Thanks! Yes I have done a permaculture design course :)
I’m reminded of Edible Acres
Yep! he has a similar system albeit on a larger scale. Love that channel
❤❤❤Watching South africa, doing mine too
mantap.. luar biasa #banksampahmajubahagia
How do you prevent rats from the compost piles? I got a whole family of huge rats! They even invaded my garage and made a huge mess there. I had to dump tons of stored goods in there.
That doesn’t sound ideal! The short answer is I don’t do anything to prevent them. They are not a huge problem for me as I think local cats moderate their population. My compost area is not very close to my house and I don’t mind if I see a few rats in the backyard.
Hmm please ask your neighbours with kids what they think though?
@@katherine1408 hi Karen
The chickens will eat the rats or if they don’t they will keep them away from the compost. They probably invaded your garage because it’s an easy place to nest. I reckon having the compost cohabitating with the chooks, rats wouldn’t be encouraged to the compost but rather deterred.
great stuff man ! keep it up
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Brilliant!
Thanks Tim! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Hi, thank you so much for the information. Really help me to understand more about composting. I have a question. Is sifting important. I mean, is it possible to use the compost without sifting. And another question is what you do to the unbroken material that come from the sifting process, did you compost it again with new raw material? Thank you so much for your time answering my question. Keep it up sharing good information. Have a nice day
Thanks for the question :) I was actually going to talk about this in the video but it was getting too long. You don't have to sift, it's perfectly fine to use the compost as is. The first reason I sift is because I often have large sticks left in the pile that I don't want to put on my garden beds. The second is that I use my compost to start seedlings in trays, for which you need a really fine compost. The material that gets sifted out either goes back to the start of the composting process, or I spread it on garden pathways as a coarser much.
@@ben.strong thank you so much for your response. Have a nice day.
Cool video :)
Thanks very much glad you enjoyed it :)
If it is a hot compost does it matter if the fungi (Wood high carbon potion) does not like to be moved often, as it is not a cold (Fungi) compost anyways, but rather a hot Bacterial compost?
Would you not be better off to have a hot compost pile (Bacterial) and a separate Cold (Fungi) pile?
From my understanding Trees like more cold fungi compost and Vegetables like more Hot (bacteria) compost.
However if you mix the two finished composts together you get even more diversity of fungi and bacteria.
Thoughts? 🤔
The thing to understand is that the pile starts off hot, and it will be more bacterially dominated, but then it cools down. Once it cools down, then the fungi moves in, and does a lot of work to break down the wood chips. The woody material doesn’t really break down at all during the hot period.
@@ben.strong Generally I think a leaf or wood chip dominated compost pile is mostly Carbon and may never heat up like a compost pile with a higher nitrogen ratio. (a high carbon pile might heat up)
A cold compost that does not heat up will be dominated by Fungi.
But as you say the hot compost is leagues quicker and the fungi will move in to break down the carbon wood chips later after the heat is gone.
Very good ❤❤
Thanks so much!
Wanted to clarify: after you pile it up and cover it with the tarp, do you leave it covered with the tarp for 1-2 months until you are ready to turn it?
Yep that’s correct!
That was great. Thank you! Can you show how you made the sifter? Just subscribed.
Thanks so much! It’s two very simple timber frames (four pieces of timber) with welded mesh (also called hardware cloth depending on where you’re from) screwed onto them. If you pause the video you’ll see I used some thin bits of timber on top of the welded mesh to clamp it in place. Then I just used a door hinge to join the two frames together. I would recommend using two hinges to make it more stable.
Nice
Genious.
Proses pembuatan kompos yang tanpa biaya salam dari Indonesia
Selamat datang! Terima kasi
@@ben.strong sama sama friend's
Great video! I'm gonna start soon with making own compost
Where do you get the coffee grounds from in melbourne
Thanks
Thanks! The coffee grounds comes from a company called Reground. you can contact them to request a delivery :)
Go fellow leftie. Oh those chickens are little self propelled tractors.
Haha yeah and no diesel required!
Great video mate! New sub here
Hey thanks very much! Great to hear from you, I've also been loving following your homesteading journey, all the best!
Love the video thanks ! (P.s. I would love to delete the back ground music - and would love to hear the sounds of your back yard instead :) )
Thanks for watching! oh fair enough, I will keep that in mind for future videos :)
Great video thanks. Where did you get your mesh and how much did it cost? I’ve priced mesh at Bunnings and it was sooo expensive. Perhaps I only looked at the expensive gear.
I’ve bought mesh from Bunnings and mitre 10, I can’t remember which one I bought it from for the sifter, but yeah it’s a bit of a rip off. I think I probably bought 2 600x900 sheets for 50-60 bucks
But actually I was just looking on facebook marketplace and saw someone selling it for much cheaper.
Sir, you seem to be drawing with the wrong hand, is this because you are down under?
haha! Yes it's all backwards down here.
Are the chickens only scratching through it in the first phase? Can you clarify how they are reacting after you cover it? I guess I am confused at what stages the chickens are involved when I see you covering the piles. Great video though! Thanks for the insight!
Thanks for the question :) The chickens get access to all the material when I first dump it into the area, and they can eat what they want. Then when I build a pile with that material, I cover it with a tarp. at which point they can no longer access it. They don't mind because I give them areas to free range. When I turn the pile, they get really excited and scratch through it whilst I'm turning and usually find worms and bugs. But I cover it again once I have finished turning, so that it can decompose (and so that the worm population can grow). When the pile is finished, I let them scratch through it one more time to pick out worms, I don't need the worms in the compost at that point, and they just get in the way when sifting and using it for seedlings. So the chickens are an integral part, but their involvement needs to be controlled to get the best results. Hope this helps!
@@ben.strong Super clear. Thanks! You've earned a subscriber...
Thanks heaps - where did you get those low woven barriers?
search for 'fence extentions bunnings' and you will find them :)
@@ben.strong thanks heaps.
Do you add your compost directly back to the garden when it is done or store it to spread in the fall or spring?
Good question! I pretty much add it whenever I have time 😂 it usually ends up being mostly in spring because I make most compost in winter, but also between crops.
Great video! My compost style is lazy composting. It attracts too much mosquitoes, flies and particularly gnats. Is that normal?
Besides, do you use special chemicals in your garden to avoid insects and pests? Because i never see them in garden videos on RUclips.
Hey thanks! I think gnats and flies are pretty normal, especially if some of the material is still fresh. Mosquitoes I only usually find to be a problem if there's a body of water around, however small (a bucket of water for example), because they need it to breed. A compost pile shouldn't be attracting them unless it's really wet.
No I don't use any chemicals for pests in my garden, I use physical barriers (like netting), and try to create the conditions for my plants to be as healthy as possible so that they can naturally resist pests on their own.
Where'd you get or how'd you make those wattle partitions
They're fence extensions that I had lying around :)
I believe they sell them at bunnings if you're in australia
That's a lot of coffee ☕️ 😳
Haha, you should see how much goes to landfill
Great video! I have access to plenty of manure, but am worried about broad spectrum herbicides have been used in the feed. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thank you!
Thanks! Yeah that’s a tricky one, given this seems to be such a prevalent issue. If you can’t verify what the animals have eaten or what bedding has been used then I would be careful, you can always do a test with a small area or in containers to test how plants respond
@@ben.strong Thank you!
Hi. Which suburb in Melbourne are you? I live in Townsville North Queensland and just came across your channel. Yes i like lazy gardening. 😊
I’m in the north west suburbs. Thanks for watching :)
Hey brother cheers for the vid. Im.also based in Melbourne. Whats thr name of thr mob to get the free coffee grounds?
No worries :) They're called Reground
Ooo wog mansion
hahah that is entirely accurate 😂
@@ben.strong hahah
V informative, and liked the video. We dont want worms in compost? Or its food for our chookies ?🙂
Glad you enjoyed it :) We do want worms in the compost, they are great! But they are also great for food for the chooks. And when I sift the compost, the worms get stuck in the mesh and its really annoying haha, so I prefer that the chickens eat them.
@@ben.strong 😁 I understand that!
How do you get coffee beans? I also live in Melbourne and would like to get some too and from which tip can you get woodchips for free?
Hey happy to help! The company I have used for the coffee grounds is called Reground. I get wood chips from my local transfer station in Moonee Valley, but you have to live in the area (they ask for ID). But Merribek council have a mulch pile out the front of their transfer station on the street where I've gotten mulch from too.
@@ben.strong Thanks a lot!
you put coffeegrounds in the chicken area?
Yep!
Do you put bones in your compost? What should not go into the compost?
I do put bones in my compost yes, but beware that they do break down quite slowly. The second question is difficult to answer because it depends on a lot of things, like how big your pile will be, if its in a tumbler or on the ground, whether you care about attracting animals etc. At the end of the day if it's come from a living organism it can probably be composted, but composting is all about balance, you don't want too much of any one ingredient.
@@ben.strong oke oke, and can I put cocopeat or sawdust? which contains a lot of tannin. Will tannin be lost in the composting process?
@@94fadil yeah sawdust I expect would be totally fine. I've never composted cocopeat, but I expect that would be totally fine too
@@ben.strong okay, thank you.
Can we activate the Turkish subtitle option?
I don't believe I have any control over that sorry! I think youtube automatically generates them
@@ben.strong I thought it was set by you. Thank you for your interest.
Great but the muzak is unnecessary and intrusive.
Hmm i don't know how neighbors will feel about making own compost.
There are many ways to make a compost pile discrete, without any smell if that’s what you’re concerned with :)