Cotton burrs are generally not a good compost to use on a vegetable garden for the reasons that Maternut stated. The insecticides directly hit the entire cotton plant including the cotton bulbs (which includes the hulls) in order to kill the bole weavils. I am not sure about cottonseed hulls however since the cotton seeds never are directly hit by the insecticide. I used cottonseed hulls on my father's garden to no ill effect that I know off. If you are going to use horse manure for your compost pile, it will need to cook very hot in order to kill the grass/oat seeds or you will have a invasive grass problem in your garden. For my compost I visit the local Fairfax VA transfer facility where I can get free composted leaves that are a dark and loamy compost. I mix those with vegetable scraps, grass clippings, coffee grounds and composted manure.

Nice post. I wanted to point out however that bacterial brews actually only need 24 hrs or less and fungal brews need around 48 hrs. Also if you are using a bag for your casting/compost adding a stone inside the bag will help dislodge fungal spores. A quick note on worm bins. in general if you exclude animal byproduct you will have much higher microbial diversity and much higher number of biodegraders in your castings. Also by adding small amounts of compost and minerals such as greensand and/or rock dust you can help further feed and breed your microbial community. Also there are quite a few ingredients you can add to your teas to enhance them. Some enhance the microbial content by adding food, others enhance the micro-nutrients in your tea, while will do both. The teas that we create have at the very least all of these ingredients. Worm Castings, Alaskan Forest Humus, Organic Compost, Hydrolyzed Fish, Sea 90, Micronized Kelp, Micronized Humic Acid, Demerara Sugar, Azomite, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Humates, Fish Bone Meal, Fish Meal, Feather Meal, Soybean Meal, Cameline Meal, Fossilized Kelp, Rock Phosphate, Langbenite, Volcanic Ash, Green Sand, Sulfate of Potash. While I'm not suggesting you need all of these ingredient I am suggesting that you experiment. Have some fun, keep notes, and learn.

A level of organic matter in soil of about 6 to 8 percent is optimal. To get to that level requires a lot of organic material, compost is one source. How much, if any, organic matter is in that soil now? Too much organic matter in soil can be detrimental rather than helpful because the soil then could retain too much moisture which will cause more problems. Perhaps these simple soil tests may be of some help. 1) Soil test for organic material. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains’ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to a point. Too much organic matter can be bad as well. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. kimmq is kimmsr

Only humans do 'composting'. This is a very narrow interpretation of composting and I believe it IS splitting hairs :-). 'Compost' (the noun) is broadly defined as "organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment" and 'composting' itself (the verb) as "nature's process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost. Anything that was once living will decompose. Basically, backyard composting is an acceleration of the same process nature uses. By composting your organic waste you are returning nutrients back into the soil in order for the cycle of life to continue. Finished compost looks like soil–dark brown, crumbly and smells like a forest floor." Does nature 'compost'?