What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Fixed some minor paint damage this weekend; I don’t know how much it would have cost to hire a professional but I bet it would have been more than the price of a couple paint rollers.

 

[Sally PB]

Food Compost Shredder Options!

Option #2 also gives you compost and eggs!

 

[gtaus]

This is the reason why you need a secure (security updated) phone.
Also important : do not use a public WIFI logging in, automatic or using passwords.

I don't know about a security updated phone. I have my mobile data turned off, so I only use the wi-fi at home. Well, I guess I do use the wi-fi at Home Depot and Harbor Freight. I suppose I should check into the security features of my Android phone. Thanks.

 

[SmiYa0126]

For composting what do you do in the winter? Does the leftovers just rot?

 

[TooCheep]

For composting what do you do in the winter? Does the leftovers just rot?

Rotting is one form organic breakdown. Typically, high nitrogen materials (like kitchen scraps & manures) breakdown is likely what you are thinking of. It is stinky and though the end result works, it isn't nearly as pleasant. I wouldn't use this setup in an urban area or if you are downwind from the pile.

If you do composting "properly" (hot composting) with a good mix of materials (high nitrogen and high carbon materials such as fall leaves), moisture, aeration, etc., there will be bacteria (and insects and worms) breaking down the organic matter and producing heat. The interior of those compost piles can get to 120°F. Some use pipes to extract some of that heat for greenhouses. There is no unpleasant smell or slime involved in this form of composting and it is comparatively fast.

I do a form that is in between. It is a lazier form (cold composting) that uses a good mixture of materials and some moisture, but I don't bother mixing on a regular basis to get good aeration. It is slower and produces less heat than hot composting, but still eliminates the stink and slime problem.

Deep litter for chickens is a fairly common technique that is roughly like hot composting. You have a deep litter in your chicken run/coop (ex: dried leaves) that the chickens poo and scratch around in. This breaks down the leaves, holds down smells from the poo and ends up producing excellent compost. I clean out my coops only twice/year, gaining excellent compost each time.

All of these methods basically end up at the same place, with broken down organic material that provide fertility for plants and small life forms.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

For composting what do you do in the winter? Does the leftovers just rot?

My understanding is you don’t want to mix it up in the winter, because that cools the compost which slows down the things which break it down into soil.

 

[igorsMistress]

Rotting is one form organic breakdown. Typically, high nitrogen materials (like kitchen scraps & manures) breakdown is likely what you are thinking of. It is stinky and though the end result works, it isn't nearly as pleasant. I wouldn't use this setup in an urban area or if you are downwind from the leftover pile.

If you do composting "properly" (hot composting) with a good mix of materials (high nitrogen and high carbon materials such as fall leaves), moisture, aeration, etc., there will be bacteria (and insects and worms) breaking down the organic matter and producing heat. The interior of those compost piles can get to 120°F. Some use pipes to extract some of that heat for greenhouses. There is no unpleasant smell or slime involved in this form of composting and it is comparatively fast.

I do a form that is in between. It is a lazier form (cold composting) that uses a good mixture of materials and some moisture, but I don't bother mixing on a regular basis to get good aeration. It is slower and produces less heat than hot composting, but still eliminates the stink and slime problem.

Deep litter for chickens is a fairly common technique that is roughly like hot composting. You have a deep litter in your chicken run/coop (ex: dried leaves) that the chickens poo and scratch around in. This breaks down the leaves, holds down smells from the poo and ends up producing excellent compost. I clean out my coops only twice/year, gaining excellent compost each time.

All of these methods basically end up at the same place, with broken down organic material that provide fertility for plants and small life forms.

This is my method as well. The chickens get in there and root around once in a while but I try to keep something on top to block most of their access.

I have to add moisture regularly or it takes forever to break down because we are so dry.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

same! I’ve been painting my 3yr old henhouse as we type. i actually changed the accent color too. heres a pic! Gotta add another coat tho! As for being frugal, I save the shake at the bottom of the feeders and use for a wet mash mix, or to bake flock blocks.

 

[gtaus]

For composting what do you do in the winter? Does the leftovers just rot?

I don't know if you are asking anyone specifically about this issue, but I will offer what I do. For context, I live in northern Minnesota, and we typically get down to -30F to -40F in the dead of winter for a week, or sometimes longer. From December to February, we have average temps between -5F and -10F. Normal composting outside would not work for us.

I give all my kitchen scraps and leftovers to my chickens in a pan in the chicken coop. They eat it all. They "compost" all that stuff internally in their digestive tract. Then they poo into their deep bedding litter - which I currently use free paper shreds. The deep bedding litter absorbs the chicken poo. I continue to add fresh paper shreds about once or twice a month in the winter, as needed, to cover up the fresh frozen poo on top. Come spring thaw, I remove all the old deep bedding litter and toss it into my chicken run composting system. The soiled paper shreds break down into black gold compost in almost no time.

If you have a small backyard flock, you probably don't need any kind of separate composting system, like bins or barrels. Chickens can safely eat just about anything. Just toss it into the coop or run and let them eat it.

Having said that, I do have some pallet wood compost bins where I will dump the few items that chickens should not eat, or maybe the occasional forgotten leftover that got shoved to the back of the refrigerator and became all moldy. Anything that goes into those compost bins just sits there, forever. I don't spend any effort in turning those piles. After a few years, it is broken down and ready to use. But almost all our kitchen scraps and leftovers get fed directly to the chickens and I have more chicken run compost than I can use.

 

[gtaus]

...or to bake flock blocks.

What's a flock block? Sounds interesting.