different sort of composting ( for me anyway )

i have a compost bin and tumbler out back that i have used for a number of years to generate compost so it isn't entirely foreign to me...

recently. however, a source of horse manure has become available to me and this is a project of a different color since it is a new process ( although not that much different )...

so, using materials on hand, i cobbled ( and cobbled is the only adjective to describe it ) together a sort of bin..if this goes well we will invest time and lumber in a more worthy bin...for now we are being cheap...or frugal...your call...

after the bin had progressed to the point it looked as if it might stay up i laid down a layer of straw...

then a layer of manure topped with some compost from a bin just to get things sttarted...

a process i repeated until the "bin" was full...

the compost from the bin was moist and the manure seemed relatively "fresh" so i did not moisten the pile...there is rain in the forecast however, so i covered it with a tarp so it does not become sodden...tomorrow i will begin turning the pile daily for a while until i get a handle on the process...if this works out the community garden may be as fertile as the yard...

i would call that forecast rain a harbinger of a nascent spring if it hadn't been raining here all winter...there are growing signs of spring out there though...the strawberries are greening up...

and the daffodils are moving along...

i can even see some buds.