Dirt is compost. I love compost. Ergo, I love dirt.hmmm...
no matter -
I sure do love what compost does to the garden.
The first photo is a view from the kitchen door. To the right is the big maple, and just beyond it (slightly downhill) is the compost bin, crowned by the weed bucket used to toss weeds out of the garden.
In the last week, I've hauled about a dozen wheelbarrow loads of compost into the garden and greenhouse, and intend to haul even more.
The compost pile here is to die for! One slatted box about 250 cubic feet, divided in half by a wall of cinder blocks simply stacked up. The box is built into the hill, so the back side is sturdy, plus easy to access from the topside.
The new greens and scraps are tossed into box #1 where the bottom of the pile is already breaking down into the rich stuff. Along with kitchen peelings and veggie scraps are tossed leftover floral arrangements (all from the property), plus leaves and cuttings and weeds.
No meat, no bones, no dairy.
Yes, I do imagine a dead animal will eventually become dirt (as we all will) but I'm not sure it would break down enough into actual "dirt" by next spring. And I don't want to be the one holding the shovel that brings out the bones.... hmmm...
And no plastic!
Gah!
What industry is making money off of those tiny little labels on every single tomato and pepper in grocery stores is doing remarkably well, I'm sure!
Is there no other way to label the produce?! I'm so annoyed every time I dig into the dirt and come up with another one that someone didn't remove when they peeled their orange.
I really must discuss this further another time.
Anyhoo, end of the fall, and box #1 is flipped into box #2, ensuring the oldest compost (that which is broken down already) will rest on the top, awaiting the spring planting. Meanwhile, the greenest scraps from the top of box #1 are now at the bottom of box #2, breaking down all winter
long. Beautiful!
Allow me to relate a small compost story.
As a twenty-something newlywed, I planted my first garden of peas, carrots, and flowers in planter boxes alongside our new deck. With a tiny yard, there was little space to consider having a compost pile, and I wasn't sure what that business was all about anyhow.
At the end of the summer, I took all of the greens from the boxes and simply tossed them into a corner by the fence where some twigs and small branches were. The greens fell over them, and I forgot about them for the winter.
The following spring I was aiming to clean up those branches, and found there a small pile of the richest soil I had ever seen. It wasn't much - maybe a gallon or so - but I had made it!
Well, me and nature... still, it was a beautiful thing.
Man, I love dirt!
Sandra
no matter -
I sure do love what compost does to the garden.
The first photo is a view from the kitchen door. To the right is the big maple, and just beyond it (slightly downhill) is the compost bin, crowned by the weed bucket used to toss weeds out of the garden.
In the last week, I've hauled about a dozen wheelbarrow loads of compost into the garden and greenhouse, and intend to haul even more.
The compost pile here is to die for! One slatted box about 250 cubic feet, divided in half by a wall of cinder blocks simply stacked up. The box is built into the hill, so the back side is sturdy, plus easy to access from the topside.
The new greens and scraps are tossed into box #1 where the bottom of the pile is already breaking down into the rich stuff. Along with kitchen peelings and veggie scraps are tossed leftover floral arrangements (all from the property), plus leaves and cuttings and weeds.
No meat, no bones, no dairy.
Yes, I do imagine a dead animal will eventually become dirt (as we all will) but I'm not sure it would break down enough into actual "dirt" by next spring. And I don't want to be the one holding the shovel that brings out the bones.... hmmm...
And no plastic!
Gah!
What industry is making money off of those tiny little labels on every single tomato and pepper in grocery stores is doing remarkably well, I'm sure!
Is there no other way to label the produce?! I'm so annoyed every time I dig into the dirt and come up with another one that someone didn't remove when they peeled their orange.
I really must discuss this further another time.
Anyhoo, end of the fall, and box #1 is flipped into box #2, ensuring the oldest compost (that which is broken down already) will rest on the top, awaiting the spring planting. Meanwhile, the greenest scraps from the top of box #1 are now at the bottom of box #2, breaking down all winter
long. Beautiful!Allow me to relate a small compost story.
As a twenty-something newlywed, I planted my first garden of peas, carrots, and flowers in planter boxes alongside our new deck. With a tiny yard, there was little space to consider having a compost pile, and I wasn't sure what that business was all about anyhow.
At the end of the summer, I took all of the greens from the boxes and simply tossed them into a corner by the fence where some twigs and small branches were. The greens fell over them, and I forgot about them for the winter.
The following spring I was aiming to clean up those branches, and found there a small pile of the richest soil I had ever seen. It wasn't much - maybe a gallon or so - but I had made it!
Well, me and nature... still, it was a beautiful thing.
Man, I love dirt!
Sandra
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