Fall Garden Chores: Turning My Compost Heap

This summer the compost heap got away from me.  It kept growing and I only turned it once.  So I had lots of leaves to incorporate into the active compost heap.  So with the weather so beautiful, it was time to turn it and add the leaves piled around the fenced compost.  My design is really simple.  It is contained by a four foot diameter circle of fencing and when I am ready to turn the pile, I just lift the fencing off, set it next to the pile and start re-filling.  This time I left the current pile alone except for the very top which had not yet broken down at all.  I started filling with that to about two feet deep along with a few large sticks to ensure air circulation into the middle of the pile on the bottom and then added a handful of Blood Meal.  Since I have lots of brown stuff and not very much green stuff, the Blood Meal adds the nitrogen needed for the pile to “cook” and break down all the stuff.  More leaves from the ground around the pile to another two feet and another handful of Blood Meal.

Handful of Blood Meal

I alternate brown stuff and Blood Meal until the pile is about 5-6 feet tall.  This seems high but as the stuff breaks down, the pile will shrink.  I cover it with a kiddie pool that I use for all sorts of things and let it sit.

Finished pile

As for the compost that is now ready, this is what you are looking for:    I like to sift through the finished compost and remove any plastic or trash that has found its way into the pile and also get rid of any larger sticks that are still intact.  You can add these to the new compost and they will eventually break down but usually I just throw them away.  They have done their job by letting air circulate to the middle of the pile and I have no shortage of sticks.  The compost will be spread in all my beds and also anywhere I need to add soil or bulk.  This year I will be filling in around my pond and to the azaleas behind the pond as they were planted this year with lots of peat moss and the dirt has settled down around the plants so they need a little dirt.  Plants can be set down into pure compost so I don’t even turn the soil to mix as long as the bed has already been worked.  This is the secret to magazine quality plants.  Compost.  Even if you don’t compost yourself, you can purchase bags of it at any garden center.  I add it fall and spring.

Happy gardening and remember to “bee” positive!

More About Compost: Grounds for the Ground

It’s so exciting.  My compost pile was actually steamy this morning.  I tried to take a picture but it didn’t really show up.  You’ll just have to take my word for it.  Now, I add coffee grounds to my compost when I have it but it’s rare because I am really a diet coke girl.  It’s the breakfast of champions.  But here is a post from someone who takes it to the next level.  I didn’t find it, they really found me and I liked this post.  It’s another example of using what you have. Here is the link:  http://groundtoground.org/2010/07/05/ground-to-ground/

It is a post on the blog http://groundtoground.org/ and its all about the compost.  It rocks.  I know compost doesn’t seem like a very exciting topic but for gardeners, well, I don’t have to really explain.  It is the essential gardeners’ tool. I love this picture.  I guess one person’s trash is another’s treasure – Literally.

Happy Composting and remember to “bee” positive!

So Wrong and Yet So Right: The Underachiever’s Guide to Compost

Going Green is now officially fashionable.  Not only must one recycle but to be accepted in the best social circles, one’s carbon footprint must be as dainty and petite as Cinderella’s glass slipper.  So as friends brag about their re-usable water bottles and stacks of newspaper, I just smile and say, “I compost”

So before I expound upon my greenish ways, let’s review the basic rules of composting:

1. Use equal parts of brown and green
2. Use at least two bins, one for adding compost, and the other for already composted compost.
3. Keep your compost moist but not wet
4. Position your compost bins in a sunny spot away from nutrient-sucking tree roots
5. Ensure that the temperature of the compost is at least a steamy 135 deg F (57 C) to kill pathogens and weed seeds

Compost is a gardener’s best tool in building a beautiful garden.  I use it whenever I plant a new plant, I amend existing beds in the spring and fall, and I use partially composted leaves as mulch in areas that are not ornamental.  And I use all my own compost.  So let me show you a few pics of my “perfect” compost bin:

So as you can see, my compost pile is a far cry from the perfect setup.  Instead of rotating bins, I have one round length of fencing that, at this time of year, is overflowing.  The white plastic bag contains a bunch of banana peels my mom dropped off a week ago that I haven’t incorporated yet, my brown to green ratio is about 90% to 10%, it is only moistened when it rains, it is directly located under a very large liveoak tree, and I have never taken its temperature, but I’m pretty sure it would be pretty close to that of the surrounding environment.  I only follow one guideline:  I generally don’t compost weeds or rose cuttings due to blackspot.

Even so, My compost is awesome.  I use it to amend all my beds in the spring and in the fall even when I have to pull out the tree roots before I use it.  It is the mainstay of my gardening program. “So what  is the point of this blog?” you may ask.

So my point is: Compost Happens.  Whether you get involved or not, leaves break down and natural things decay.  I know it looks messy but I guarantee you that this fall I will have more than enough “black gold” for my extensive garden and even if I don’t, compost is cheap and plentiful at Lowes.  So don’t sweat it.  It’s not rocket science so start a compost bin or pile or whatever.  Turn it occasionally or not – it will eventually break down either way.  Not only will your garden benefit from it but when the folks around you are bragging about how “green” they are, impress their socks off; just smile and say, “I compost.”

Happy Composting and remember to “Bee” Positive!

P.S.  For those of you who contacted me worried about my thirsty birds, never fear.  I went out at 5 AM this morning, cleaned out the fountain and added plenty of clean fresh water.  This one’s for you: