Hi! Jennifer, You got a good answer from Aurora Farm and I go along with all they said. Getting going in manageable steps is important, or you will break your heart and create a weed patch. Compost and mulch are the main tools to get the garden firing and to reduce work, weeds and imputes.
With goat poo, I would suggest it is like sheep, which has a mucus that resists break down. It should never be applied direct, as should no bird or animal manure. Only well composted. Sheep and goat tends to be dry andun-wet-able. At least, it needs physically breaking up and wetting well, before composting. One can use a concrete mixer with just enough water to make a slurry and rocks or broken clay bricks to break the manure up.. As with handling any manure, avoid breathing in the dust and get your tetanus shots up to date. If you site the concrete mixer near the compost site, empty into the barrow, remove the rocks and make the compost right away. You will need a lot of vegetable material/ paper/ what ever. If it is dry, wet it in an old bath of water. Paper should be wet to the point of falling apart. The bigger range of materials the better, as you will get a bigger range of minerals etc. I like to include some bird manure, if available, for extra nitrogen and as important, extra heat, as sheep and goat are not very hot, when composting. If possible always include some green material. I like to include a sprinkle of finely crushed volcanic rock dust, as one can be too organic and too little mineral. I use compounds made from old wooden pallets wired together making spaces about 1.2 Metres square and as high, make several in a row. Start at one end, filling them in order. Layer the material in thin layers, manure, vegetable material, manure etc. I make up the Compost Preps as a liquid and add a little each layer or two. After two weeks in the warm part of the year, longer if cold, build a new compound at the starting end and open the first compound, take the top and front and place in the middle of the bottom of the new compound, then empty the middle out. Place the material from the sides and back in the new space and then turn the rest and place it of top. Level the heap and if another compound is available also add that to the new compound. After another two weeks turn it again, moving it back to the original compound. After another two weeks, you should have usable compost. I have a large screen with one inch holes, which I pass the compost through as part of the mixing process. In the early stages the heat should be too hot to comfortably place the arm. The amount of water required is considerable, about one third by volume. Dryness is one of the greatest mistakes in compost. The compost is finished when it cools down. If still hot, it is still working. When finished, I like to add some worm casts and worms to allow worms to establish before use. Compost is a living environment and must be kept damp if stored before use. The pallet compounds makes compost quicker than open heaps. I include bones, twigs, corn storks, nut shells etc, that takes a long time to break down and just sieve them out at the end and add them to the next lot, until eventually broken down. Gil
