Manure gone

[Digeroo]

So I filled several compost bins with manure last year and now I have very well rotten friable product, except there is so little of it.  There is only about a foot of stuff in the bottom.  It is a little better for the one with a lid on it but only just.

Not only did I fill the bins but topped them up several times. 

The question is where has it gone?  How much compost should I expect from a bin full of manure?  And are ants a good/bad thing in a compost bin?   

[Digeroo]

[Obelixx]

I suspect someone has helped themselves.   Farmers round here pile manure from cowsheds all winter on the edge of whichever field it will eventually be spread on and it doesn't shrink much at all.   Ditto horse manure at the riding school over the way.

Ants in the heap mean it is nice and dry and cosy so maybe needs a thorough watering.

[Bill Door]

Well a foot is better than nothing!

It depends on how much straw or biodegradable stuff was in the manure you put in the bins.  Did you count the worms that were in the bins?  Did you collect the moisture that came out of the bottom of the bins?  Did you collect the gas that escaped from the bins?  No!  so you have lost a substantial amount of the manure that you put in the bin.

Never mind, there's not much you can do about the gas but the moisture will be in the ground below the bins.  If you move the bins and take of the foot of stuff remaining the ground should be good to grow a catch crop.  It wont need digging either, so dob in some young plants.  Spread the good stuff where you need it for next year.

Meanwhile fill your bins again and see if you can catch a "second " crop before winter.  If you can, mix in a few browns (cardboard, dried brambles, dried cowslips but no flower heads) and may be some urine.

Good luck and hope you get another foot at least of the good stuff.

Bill

[johhnyco15]

it takes me two seasons to fill a darlec type compost bin to around half way to me that sounds around right what your saying it all breaks down today i filled one from new by next week it will be half empty as the heat builds and composting takes place it will shrink a lot so dont worry it a natural part of the process  hope this helps

[ancellsfarmer]

The reduction in volume is typical, decomposed not decamped! The process is completely expected  and natural, otherwise we would all be up to our necks in it. The value as a nutrient is only valuable  because the process has produced soluable salts which a plant can absorb. The fibre content has broken down to humus which can "space out" soil particles, creating voids which will hold moisture ready for roots to absorb.
Repeat the process, you have succeeded.
Perhaps move the composters onto the uphill end of a plot, so that any run-off passes through an area you can plant, rather than away into a watercourse where damage to the natural flora and fauna may result. A simple stack will also breakdown over time, with less work and better utilisation of space. The formation of a heap alongside an older one will permit the migration of worms etc as conditions dictate. Manure containing large populations of brandlings is not yet ready for incorporation, these worms will not become earth worms useful in soil so let them move away, into the new heap , to perform their magic.