Turning chicken manure into compost

Just outside Abingdon, Virginia, the smell of chicken waste wafts from huge fans lining the walls of an industrial chicken facility.  I'm sure the neighbors don't think so, but this is the scent of sun-ripened tomatoes, brilliant bell peppers, and outstanding okra --- or at least it will be in a few weeks after the resulting compost mellows in my garden soil.

Spike meets us in a warehouse-type building next door.  Inside, mounds of chicken manure, horse bedding from a nearby college's stables, and grass clippings from a neighbor's lawn meld into award-winning compost.  Spike explains that he usually mixes two parts hardwood horse bedding (mostly sawdust with some manure --- the carbon source) with one part chicken manure (the nitrogen source.)  The grass clippings and other bonuses are irregularly added as they materialize.  I could tell that Spike was a guy after my own heart --- he knew that no organic matter is waste.

We've been sampling all of the local compost producers, and Spike is by far our favorite.  Although his compost is a bit too dry for my tastes, it is extremely high in both nutrients and organic matter, with an N-P-K ratio of 3-4-4.  For the record, Steve Solomon's pricey complete organic fertilizer is 5-5-1.

Except for needing to wet the compost well before using it, the only flaw with Spike's compost is shared by all other producers of poultry compost --- high phosphorus content.  Many organic gardeners apply a poultry manure every second or third year, alternating with a more nitrogen rich manure that contains less phosphorus (from horses, cows, rabbits, or just about anything other than poultry.)  We get horse manure from a nearby farm to round out our compost needs, keeping the phosphorus from building up to toxic levels in our soil.

We'd be willing to pay more for such high quality compost, but Spike keeps the prices reasonable --- $25 per cubic yard.  His cubic yards seem to be on the large side too, with this overflowing truckload costing only $50.  After several truckloads this year, our soil is already starting to take on the dark color of good loam.  To pick up your own load of compost, give Spike a call at (276) 356-9357.