Best way to compost goat straw?

snoozy · #1 01/09/10, 01:01 PM

I just cleaned out the goat shed, and I have 3 good-sized piles of straw and manure.

1) Should I let it compost in piles in the garden?...

2) Should I dig it into the garden and hope it is sufficiently mellowed by the time I plant?...

3) Should I add something to it to make it compost better/faster?...

How long does it take to compost goat straw in the winter?

Alice In TX/MO · #2 01/09/10, 01:22 PM

Just spread it in the garden. It's not a *hot* manure. It will till in just fine in the spring.

#3 01/09/10, 01:38 PM

I agree , That's what I always did .

snoozy · #4 01/09/10, 01:41 PM

Sounds easy. I can do easy!

steff bugielski · #5 01/10/10, 06:11 AM

Spread but do not till. Spread it thick like 6-8" In the spring just move it aside to put the plant in or a row of seeds. The soil underneath will be nice and loose already.

Forerunner · #6 01/10/10, 08:30 AM

For what it's worth, I'd make one big pile and let it break down under it's own heat until late May/early June, at least. The finished product will be far more serviceable and you will see more obviously beneficial results.

The idea of tilling it in midwinter is ok if you have no other choice.
The idea of laying it out in a layer would work well for certain crops.
But, my experience is such that finished compost outperforms raw material in tilth and effect every time.
It works into the soil like an effortless dream, and the plants can utilize everything in it immediately.

Bret · #7 01/11/10, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forerunner

For what it's worth, I'd make one big pile and let it break down under it's own heat until late May/early June, at least. The finished product will be far more serviceable and you will see more obviously beneficial results.

The idea of tilling it in midwinter is ok if you have no other choice.
The idea of laying it out in a layer would work well for certain crops.
But, my experience is such that finished compost outperforms raw material in tilth and effect every time.
It works into the soil like an effortless dream, and the plants can utilize everything in it immediately.

I like this option too. With calf manure, hay and stray, I stack it up in a tidey pile. The calf help know it down and stir it up. It looks like a lot. By late summer its volume has been reduced and the long stems seem to magically disappear. When it is dry it is a joy to haul in five gallon buckets to dress up around trees and places you want it.

suzyhomemaker09 · #8 01/11/10, 01:13 PM

Both goat and rabbit berries require no composting before use in any garden setting...neither are hot manures that need it.

snoozy · #9 01/11/10, 01:44 PM

I have never managed to make a compost pile heat up, so I think the spreading-it-on-top-and-hope-for-the-best is probably the strategy I will have the most success with.

Cliff · #10 01/11/10, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steff bugielski

Spread but do not till. Spread it thick like 6-8" In the spring just move it aside to put the plant in or a row of seeds. The soil underneath will be nice and loose already.

Yes. Nature's way of gardening, mulch mulch mulch.
Actually, if just spread on the garden, by spring most of it probably will have broken down.
We don't till if we can help it, we use a deep mulch of old hay or straw. The soil is full of earthworms and always soft and moist. The mulch is constantly breaking down and keeps the soil fertile. Easiest and most natural way of gardening imo.

#11 01/11/10, 01:54 PM

I have most of my garden under goat straw. I use both straw and the extra hay that they don't eat.

When it comes time to get the garden ready in the spring do I rake the straw and hay to the side and then get the rototiller on the garden, right? What do I do with the leftover straw and hay? Will that compost down on it's own?

sammyd · #12 01/11/10, 04:12 PM

We clean out pens in the spring. We use the stuff to cover our potatoes instead of straw, we use it between the rows as mulch It will be well broken down by the next spring.
We also plow it into whichever field we are working up out back either fall or spring.
There is no reason to let it mellow.

steff bugielski · #13 01/12/10, 05:57 AM

If you cover your garden with a nice thick layer of hay or straw there will be no need to till. The earthworms will do it for you. I can put my hand in the soil a good 4-5" in the spring with little or no effort. You will also not need to water as the mulch will keep your garden soil moist. You will also not need to weed if it is thick enough.
For all you skeptics out there why not cover a small section of your garden with 6-8" of hay and see what happens. I admit it is better to cover before the snow but you should all try it to see.

Backfourty,MI. · #14 01/12/10, 06:14 AM

We have a big pile out back by the feild that we always put the goat straw & manure in.
In the spring will plow up the garden & add a nice thick layer after planting, around all the plants & in between in all the rows.
It helps to keep the weeds down, keeps from watering as often & in the fall plow the straw in the garden area that is laying all over the top & you'll never know it's there in the spring.

Cliff · #15 01/12/10, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tonya

I have most of my garden under goat straw. I use both straw and the extra hay that they don't eat.

When it comes time to get the garden ready in the spring do I rake the straw and hay to the side and then get the rototiller on the garden, right? What do I do with the leftover straw and hay? Will that compost down on it's own?

You should read Ruth Stout's no work garden book (pretty sure that's the title.) Tilling is never necessary. With her method you work hard one day a year getting a heavy mulch on the garden, then you're mostly done.
Garden plants thrive in this environment. They have no competition from weeds, the soil stays fertile and you very rarely have to water as the mulch holds in moisture so well. Like Steff said, the earthworms keep the soil soft and easy to plant in.
When planting seeds just pull mulch back a little till they sprout well then tuck the mulch back around them.
We've gardened this way for over 10 yrs, it's the easiest gardening I've done in my life.
When initially converting to this way of gardening you may have to till once if the ground is real hard or real lumpy. After that if you keep it in a deep mulch at all times you'll be amazed at what the earthworms and natural microorganisms will do. They will create and maintain a soft, rich moist soil that you'll marvel in. They will actually decompose about 8 to 10 inches of mulch a year for you (they work better if you don't stir them up by tilling and they can stay in their natural layers.)
It's a system that just works beautifully well all round.

eta: we throw barn bedding and waste on top too (either on top of the soil or on top of the mulch.) It won't burn unless it directly contacts plants. Actually a quick way to fertilize a plant is to put some poo under the mulch about a foot away from the plant. The roots will gather nutrition as they need and the poo will gradually break down making the soil more fertile.

lmrose · #16 01/12/10, 08:35 PM

Here we do both. We have spread straw and actually rotted up sod over the winter. In the spring the straw was pulled back, the rotted sod stirred up and potatoes and squash planted. We also compost everything cleaned out of the barn along with vegetable matter from the garden. We have two compost piles going on at one time.One is a new one and the other more advanced. We keep turning them and adding to them until they rot up and are like rich black soil.Compost is more valuble than gold because in a drought year mulch and compost will grow your food even with only a litttle rain or none.

General Brown · #17 01/12/10, 08:48 PM

Adding the straw will hold the moisture. I agree with that, ...but we have had extremely wet years the last 2 in my area. If the straw is added before the spring rains stop, will it rot the roots?

lmrose · #18 01/12/10, 09:12 PM

On our farm when we spread old hay or straw on sod to rot it up over the winter; we pulled it back to expose the ground to plant on and left the straw between the rows to walk on. Also this past summer which was extremely wet here we had straw thick between the rows and beds to walk on. While others walked in mud we walked dry on straw. We also have preforated tile underneath the garden. In a wet year it helps carry off excess water so the garden doesn't drown! In a dry year the plants put down deeper roots to find moisture because the garden has a lot of compost in it.