We have seven chickens that we share with our neighbor. As urban farmers know, chickens are the lifeblood of trying to live sustainably in the city. You buy organic food, you drop the scraps into a chicken bucket. The chickens eat the scraps and make poop (the eggs are a nice byproduct). Then you take the poop and mix in with your grass clippings, leaves, and the food scraps the chickens won’t eat. At the end of the compost process, you have rich soil that you put in your garden to grow your own food.
All of this adds up to living sustainably – at least for one slice of your life. It feels great, even if it’s mostly a symbol of true sustainability. But it’s real, and doing it makes you feel really great.
And while I love the cycle, I do have to admit that I don’t have it down perfectly. The piece I want to work on is composting. Right now I drop the chicken poop, grass, and everything else into trashcans and pretty much just let it sit there for long periods of time. Eventually it breaks down and turns into good soil, but it takes forever and it doesn’t mix evenly – and I’m never sure when it’s cured and is ready for the garden. I just spread my compost into my garden and worked it into the soil in hopes that any “hot” poop will cool off before I plant.
This year I want to up the ante and actually go find compost bins that lay on their side on tracks – they’re what I dream about because all you do is give the barrel a little nudge on the track each time you drop scraps or poop in there. That little bit of rotation stirs up the compost and helps it decompose much faster and mixes everything up nicely. I want two barrels please, and right away. 
Roots and Spokes 