Composting

My homemade compost bin

 There are many benefits to composting. We have been doing it for several years now, basically since we moved into this house. My facility for doing so has changed a couple of times, but it works just the same, but maybe better as I have learned some things.

The first benefit is that our trash volume is very small. We produce one standard kitchen sized bag of garbage each week. We also recycle, so there is that. Nearly all food wastes go into the compost bin.

As you can see from the photo above, fresh garden foods, trimmings, egg shells, spent floral arrangements etc are added quite often. I add layers of dead leaves during this time of year, after they have been mulched, and green grass clippings a few times a year during the mowing season. Since I mulch all the grass clippings in the summer and leaves in the fall, I will attach my mower bag once in a while to catch these clippings to add to the pile. I them remove it so my yard has natural ingredients all year.

This latest bin I constructed out of leftover wood. The slats were attached so that air can get into the sides and the pitchfork stays close by so that I can turn it over every few weeks. The bottom of this pile is dark and rich and is very potent. It needs to be added to other soils and amendments and not used alone. Sometimes, I will take a scoop of the muck in the bottom and make a tea by putting the scoop into a bucket of water and letting it steep. Adding this to potted plants, and other plants around the yard is like adding a natural liquid feed.

While we don't add meat products, we will add mussel shells, shrimp shells and clam shells to the mix. They don't break down very easily, but the added calcium and other minerals to leech in. I have noticed too, that the squirrels will gnaw on the clam shells from time to time.

In the spring, I will take off the top half, and take out the bottom half and put it into another pile, ready to be used. I will then put back the top half so that it will be ready for the next round of decomposition.

Cold icy rain spares us from the first brutal hit of winter

the final layer of leaves await mulching

Well, we dodged a bullet this week. While the rest of the country was wrapping up from brutal winter weather, with temperatures below zero, massive ice storms or snow, we got just a taste. Mornings were in the teens to low 20s and the storm only produced a bit of ice on the trees equaling to about an eighth of an inch or about a half a centimeter.

I wasn't able to finish cleaning the back yard due to the incessant rainfall we encountered from Sunday to Tuesday. That clean up will just have to wait until next week. With short days and waning light, There is nothing I can do after getting home in the evening.

Enjoy some photos from around the yard during the cold snap.

slow. ice. drip.

interesting shapes along the branches

ice covered branches look ominous in the light of a streetlamp

Good weather for late fall chores in the yard

Dried toad lily blossoms

I was able to get some yard work done over the last few days. Some are not pleasant, but are needed. After all was done though, the yard was looking better and will mean less work for me in the spring to get the growing season started. The weather here has been off and on warmer than it should be, mixed with some pretty cold nights.

Ginger Lilies before cutting and bedding

The Ginger Lilies finally succumbed to the freezes and dropped and turned to much. While I try to mulch as much as I can back into the ground, these stalks are no match for the mower. They are extremely fibrous and will clog even the best mower. That said, I cut each one and hauled the remains to the back for further decomposition. I then spread copious amounts of hardwood mulch over the rhizomes to protect against total mushiness this winter when the colder than normal temps start after the new year.

Thick mulch will help protect the rhizomes from the worst of the freeze

I also took advantage of the weather to clean out the raised beds of all the spent veggies and herbs from this year. The soil is looking good and I will add some new ingredients in the spring prior to planting. The Thyme took a hit during the summer, resulting in a half death, but the other half should make it through the winter just fine. My Fennel, which was this year about 5 or so years old, finally died. I'll plant some more in the spring, to help entice the Swallowtails to lay their eggs once more.

While doing the cleanup, I noticed that one of the boards of the raised beds was split. I will have to replace that board in the spring, to get it ready for next years crop.

Raised vegetable bed before cleanup.

Sorry looking herb bed before cleanup. Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano and Chives are all still doing well.

After cleanup of one bed. This Bonsai will winter here with mulch around the pot.

Split boards will be replaced in the spring

The soil in these beds is extremely rich and you can sink your hands in at any time without using a tool. It is a mixture of screened topsoil, manure, peat moss, and our own compost mix from the back. I don't really ever use fertilizer, other than compost tea.