What Goes In Determines What Comes Out

"Initial Mix" Guidelines for Great Compost

Also included in this newsletter:

• New Estate Joins the Regenerative Farm Movement with O2Compost
• O2Compost Q&A - Compost Appearance and Quality

The Ideal "Initial Mix"

First, let's take a minute to discuss the importance of collecting manure from the horses' stalls, sacrifice areas, and pastures (Reference: "How to be the Perfect Horsekeeper").

"One 1100-pound horse passes manure, on average, seven to ten times per day, adding up to a total daily output of about fifty pounds. A small operation housing only ten horses accumulates almost seven tons of manure in just one month. And that's just the manure."

It goes without saying that collecting the horses' manure is critical to maintaining the horses' health and managing odors (ammonia) and flies all around the farm. 

The ideal "initial mix" for horse manure composting has a ratio of 75%-80% manure to 20%-25% stall bedding.

Read the full article on our blog to learn more about ideal "initial mix" components to ensure a quality finished compost product.

Holland Estate Joins the Regenerative Farm Movement

New Cornerstone System in Washington State

Lisa Holland, wanting to be part of the regenerative farming movement, decided to compost their horse manure on-site. Her research led her to work with O2Compost on a cornerstone system. Now, she's compliant with regulations and enjoying the benefits of a readily available fertilizer for her property (and her neighbors). Learn more about Lisa's compost system and read her testimonial.

O2Compost Q&A

"Why is our compost not very uniform, not very black, and still contains large sawdust particles? We use mostly wood pellet bedding."

ANSWER: It is good that you are using wood pellet bedding because you generally get less wood products in the compost mix. It has a finer texture, a higher surface area, and will ultimately break down faster than shavings. That being said, wood breaks down slowly, even under optimized composting conditions. In my opinion, an ideal mix consists of 80% manure and 20% stall bedding. That can be difficult to achieve if you are composting all of the manure waste. Do your best to minimize  the stall bedding in the mix.

Read more on our blog to learn what other components factor into the color, quality, appearance, and moisture content of your finished compost product.