Turning Compost

BY SKEETER


We had a productive weekend here in our Georgia Gardens. I plucked all the weed and debris out of the Rock Garden and created some items for my Spring Woods Display. A while back, we purchased a Juicer and have been accumulating fruit and veggie waste rather quickly. I make soups with a lot of the veggie waste (Peel and Pulp) but with Juicing regularly, we have been acquiring more debris then I can manage in the kitchen and even freezer. So it goes into the Compost Pile. We have been running out of space to bury new waste so I have been after The Saint to turn over the Compost Pile for me. He never gets into a hurry to do manual labor so he ponders on it a while. He then had a great idea. He borrowed the Tiller from our next door neighbor and tilled the Compost Pile into a wonderful pile of Dirt! This dirt is made from Horse Manure, Potted Plant waste, Dead Plants, Twigs, Leaves Broken Down Tree Stumps, Coffee Grinds, Egg Shells, Fruit & Veggie Waste, etc. Click on the Video above to see the Saint Tilling away and making beautiful dirt for me.This Compost Pile started from an idea I had on how to use old tree stumps. Click HERE to see that story from long ago...Looking back on how this Compost Pile started, I made one mistake. That mistake was to create the pile so close to the Garden. Nice to have it nearby for when I am ready to use the dirt plus for tossing old plants into. But not pretty on the eye being at the back of my Semi-Formal Flower Garden.No matter what time of year, the pile of Compost was always in my eyes view. Not a pretty sight to this Neat and Tidy garden keeper.We shall no longer add debris to this pile and I think it will be ready to use by the time I am ready to plant this year. Now to decide where the new Compost Pile shall start. Hummmmm. I must thank my Saint tremendously for all the help he has given me with getting this dirt into my Gardens. He has scooped Horse Poo with me (Click HERE to see) and Turned the Pile many times. He's a Keeper and I like his new way of TURNING COMPOST, In the Garden...


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Composting Trees

By Skeeter I recently found a great surprise in my Georgia Garden. See the wood from a cut tree stacked up against the fence? This wood was cut and put into place some time in the year 2005. This was before a Semi-Formal Flower Garden was in place. The wood sat there as you see it for a long time. Then Blogging came into my world. I found our Master Gardener Tina's Blog and then had inspiration. With all the talk of Composting, I decided it was time for me to have a compost bin of sorts. So the Saint and I took the logs down one by one and rearranged them to form 3 walls. It was as if we were children playing with our Lincoln Logs! Not really as these logs were still heavy and full of water although the bark was falling off most of the pieces. I snapped pictures of the project but I cannot find them on file anywhere. Just use your imagination today if you will. I have been putting tables scraps such as coffee grinds, egg shells, veggie & fruit peel, etc into this bin and growing worms like crazy! Without my pictures, I am not sure how long this compost bin has been in place but I am guessing 3 years. Today I go out to put in my bowl full of yummy for the worms and look what I found. With all the rains we have been receiving, the wood logs are now breaking down at an extreme rate. This stuff looks like something a Gardener would pay good money for at a Garden Center! I had my little hand shovel with me as I always cover my kitchen scraps with dirt. I took my hand shovel and hit the logs a bit and the stuff was falling into the compost pile!

Click on the Video to see how easy this was. I am right handed and was holding the camera with my right hand while chopping with my clumsy left hand. If I could have gotten to it with my right hand, I would have put a woodpecker to shame with my pecks! Once the weather gets nicer, the Saint and I will see what we can do to help the process along, maybe by using a larger shovel.

I hope this once tall tree will be gold for the Garden. This is a long process and I never knew I was COMPOSTING TREES, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Compost and a Nearly Grown Cat

I know, who wants to see compost? And can you really even see it through all the leaves anyhow? No, probably not, but take my word for it when I tell you there is some lovely black compost mixed in this big ole bin. I also have two other identical ones that have the raw materials cooking into compost. But this post is really just to update you on Compost the kitten and to start you off on a funny weekend.

I found a little kitten just three days before we were due to leave on vacation back in July. No shelter in town would take her, and I could not find a home for her despite my best efforts. We made the trip all the way to Maine with this little kitten in our vehicle. Christine, my oldest daughter, volunteered to foster her until she could find her a home. Christine was successful! Though not in the way we all expected. My youngest sister Terri agreed to take Compost since Christine was leaving for basic training and could not find another home for the kitten. Here is what Compost looks like now. If you click on the initial post on Compost you will see she has changed quite a bit, and is no longer a tiny kitten. She is still a bit skittish around new people and quite a handful I am told, but has adjusted well despite her rough start in life living in my compost bin. We are all very grateful Terri took Compost in, even with her three dog-cats (yippy tiny chihuahuas) and her other two cats as well. What a houseful!

Oh yes, one more really funny thing to leave you with this weekend. A belly laugh. If you don't get one, then I don't know what to say. As many of you know I have been busy on Blotanical. I just love visiting AND commenting on other blogs and new posts. I have found some really great ones-so darned many!!!!!!!! This particular one is too funny to pass up and I had to share it with you. My compost post is perfect to go along with Indoor Gardener's post. Please go check out a short video posted at Indoor Gardener and found here. There is a warning posted, a warning to be prepared to laugh in my opinion!

in the garden....laughing.

Compost and a Kitten

First DP and Cam of Square Foot Gardening find a baby kitten; which was a lucky kitten since DP adopted her, then guess what I find in my compost bin???? I have heard of compost bins attracting skunks, voles, raccoons and many other wild animals, but this is a first for a kitten. This kitten is wild but we are taming him. He is so sweet and we will temporarily call him 'Compost' since we found him in the compost bin and since he was eating food scraps. I was about scared out of my skin to see him moving in the bin when I went to put in some scraps. I was much more scared than him as he was okay with it, but moved on pretty quickly.

If anyone would like to adopt 'Compost' please contact me as soon as possible. I will be happy to deliver. He needs to find a new home asap as I do not want to take him to animal control. I cannot keep another cat and am already feeding several wild cats in addition to my little Orkin. I have also posted Compost on Freecycle.

Thanks in advance.

in the garden....looking for people to be more responsible with their animals so as to prevent homeless and motherless kittens from having to eat out of compost bins.

A Good Cup of Java

I think most, if not all gardeners compost in some manner. I know my garden would not be complete without a compost bin. I have a large compost bin and am always looking for things to compost.

One great and free thing for your compost are coffee grounds. My friend Geri and I stop by Starbucks to get their old coffee grounds all the time. They package the grounds up in nice foil bags and place them in buckets in their stores. These grounds are free for the taking, first come, first served.

You can see Geri has been busy collecting and storing coffee grounds in the above picture. She really should get those bags into her compost! Though to be fair, I have been kind of hoarding some bags in my car as well. I currently have four that just can't seem to make it to the compost bin. Maybe that is because I am always on here updating all of my lost pictures!

I have read coffee grounds may be a bit on the acid side on the ph scale. Therefore, composting first is recommended before using in the garden, unless you are spreading them on camelias, azaleas or rhodies. But, I have spread coffee grounds over all of my gardens with no ill results.

I think most coffee shops would gladly give away their old grounds. Starbucks' program is called, "Grounds for your Garden". I like the convenience very much.

Happy composting and here's to a good cup of java. We all need one after that HUGE Garden Bloggers Bloom Day yesterday. I know I do!

in the garden....smelling the warm rich smell of coffee grounds.

Leaf Litter

Composting is nature's way of recycling. Leaf litter is Mother Nature's end result of her attempt at composting. Humans don't even need to do anything for nature to compost. Just look at the ground the next time you walk through the woods. What do you see? What does the ground you walk on feel like? Does a forest smell different than a farm field or your backyard?

While walking through a forest with both deciduous and evergreen trees, you should see the ground covered with leaves, pine needles, maybe some fallen and rotting logs, and lots and lots of leaf litter. Leaf litter is a collection of the detritus which falls from trees and other plant material onto the ground. Detritus includes: leaves, bark, twigs, sticks, pine needles-you name it. Leaf litter is a great addition to garden beds and nature's ultimate success at recycling.

Leaf litter and compost are nearly the same thing; the difference being what is included in the finished product. Leaf litter will contain only the organic matter from the trees and plants in the forest, whereas compost will contain organic matter from not only the trees and plants in the forest (if you have it available), but also organic matter from our homes and gardens.

Why is leaf litter a great addition to your gardens you ask? Because in addition to the organic matter it adds to the soil, it also adds millions and billions of organisms which process the leaf litter and develop communities between the soil and leaf litter. These communities then help maintain soil fertility and structure. Our goal as gardeners should be to have great soil, not just great plants.(http://www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/biodiversity_litter.htm) According to this same website, leaf litter "rivals coral reefs as one of the most biodiverse places on earth."

The ground will feel like it has some give to it. It will not be hard packed clay like we have in our backyards. The softness underfoot is due to the leaf litter on the ground. As all of the leaf litter decays it becomes spongy and soft providing cushioning for a very comfortable walk through the forest.

A forest will usually smell earthy. The earthy smell of course comes from the earth. Essentially the communities within the leaf litter are working with the soil to improve the ground. Since leaf litter is usually not disturbed the earth smell can be more pronounced in a forest than in other places, such as farm fields.

We too can compost just like Mother Nature. For me composting is a way of life in the garden. I, like Mother Nature, kind of take a hands off approach to composting. I have three bins each measuring 4'x4'. I toss in lots of detritus like: leaves, pine needles, plant debris, leftover food scraps, vegetable peelings, rabbit litter, coffee grounds (a super amendment), tea bags and just about anything organic and let it sit, just like leaf litter in a forest. I am a passive composter I guess you could say. If I turned the compost the debris would decompose a little faster, but I usually have some compost available for use at all times due to the large amounts of detritus I compost. Communities of all sorts of organisms almost immediately begin breaking down the detritus into fine black organic material, something I call 'Black Gold'. Gardeners can't get enough of it.

The above three pictures are of Skeeter's new compost bin. The first picture is of the woodpile with which she used logs from to build her compost bin. The second picture is of the finished compost bin. The third picture shows an up close picture of the compost bin full of detritus just waiting to compost into black gold, or maybe some leaf litter judging by the amount of forest detritus she has put in the compost bin. She and the Saint will soon have lots of compost and leaf litter to add to their beautiful gardens.

If you have a picture of a compost bin you would like to see on here, just send it to me at ramseytina5@gmail.com. I will compile them and do a posting on the variety of compost bins and how compost helps the particular owner of the compost bin. Even if you don't have a compost bin and maybe just have a pile of detritus-that could work too!

in the garden....composting the Mother Nature way.

The "Fertilizer Bunnies"

As many of you know, I have several animals. Most of them serve a purpose. The bird sings and makes me happy, the cat takes out the pests and purrs, the fish are grateful to see me and look pretty, the dogs-well the dogs are just kind of companions so I guess that is a purpose-wait-they guard the house too, and lastly there is the rabbit. He is the "Fertilizer" bunny instead of the Energizer bunny and provides my gardens and compost bins with a great amount of natural fertilizer.

We have had Cuddles for one and one half years now and he has been a very good source of natural fertilizer for the garden. Probably too good of a source considering how often I have to clean his cage. But I keep remembering just how many gardens I have to fertilize. He is in the first picture standing up and looking around. He lives in a cage my father built. I hauled the cage from Maine in the back of my Buick-that was a crowded trip!

I don't know what came over me when I recently I agreed to adopt Peter. I found Peter when a lady (Judy) posted an offer of a free rabbit on Freecycle. Against my best judgment, I offered to take Peter. I tell you, my hand and I had a fight when it involuntarily responded to her post of a rabbit on the computer keyboard. The menagerie we already have is enough-really! Mr. Fix-it (great guy that he is) is ok with our new acquisition, of course he doesn't clean the cage.



Animals are great but it is difficult to travel when you own animals, and they take a lot of time, money and energy. All of you know this. Anyhow, I reasoned that just adding one more bunny to the family with Cuddles wouldn't be toooo much. I mean afterall, I have twins-the more the merrier right? Two for the price of one?

Peter is a tame bunny and Judy was very sad to see him go. She was afraid someone would eat him. I assured her that she could come visit anytime she wants and he will most definitely not become our dinner. Judy already knew me as I had just met her the week before when she offered me some pine needles. She is a good gardener and used Peter's wastes for fertilizer in her garden.

Peter is much bigger than Cuddles and I am thinking he will do his fair share of serving his purpose around here by providing lots of natural fertilizer for both the garden and the compost bin. Peter is the big brown bunny looking like he wants to jump out of his nice cage Judy sent along with him. He has beautiful brown eyes and is very sweet. We love our two "Fertilizer Bunnies", and if you have fertilizer bunnies at your house, use their natural fertilizer in your garden-for free.

I checked to see if I could find the fertilizer value of rabbit manure to the garden. According to the website http://ecosyn.us/ecocity/Links/My_Links_Pages/rabbit_manure01.html a resting adult can produce between 2-3 ounces of feces per day, and 3-4 ounces of urine per day. Broken down easier and for my benefit, I am receiving approximately 2 pounds of manure per week and over two pounds of urine (which soaks into the cedar shavings and is composted all together) from both rabbits together. This IS alot of compost and is very beneficial for the garden.

The nutritional value of the wastes is approximately 2.4% Nitrogen (N), 1.4% Phosphorous (P), and .6% Potassium (K). You should compost the rabbit manure or delay planting for at least three weeks. I do both in my garden. I have been known to spread it around in new gardens, but usually I toss it in my compost bins. Putting it in the garden fresh has not harmed my plants, but I recommend composting the manure first.

in the garden....spreading some natural fertilizer.

What Do You Compost?

Composting is a great way to feed your soil and recycle at the same time. Every place I have lived I have had a compost bin, except in Germany. But in Germany you have to recycle biological waste anyhow. Mr. Fix-it actually built me a compost bin once. He mitered the corners and has never lived that one down. You see, compost bins are for containing rotting biodegradable waste. I compost most everything in my garden. Bread, leftovers, fruit rinds, leaves, dead birds, spent flowers, small sticks, fish, cheese, shellfish shells, coffee ground, tea bags, you name it. I don't actually put chicken bones or leftover meat in the compost pile, but if i have leftover tuna casserole, in the compost it goes. Now everything you hear about composting says not to compost meat and dead animals because you will attract rodents. Ok folks, what gardener doesn't already have rodents? The last time I checked mice like fresh fruit just as well as they like meat and cheese and fish and tuna! The rodents are already in your garden! I know some very plump chipmunks who live close to my compost bin. The cat is just not doing her job well in the backyard because the dogs live there. The only thing reason I can think of not putting meat in your compost bin is because meat may attract skunks and raccoons, neither of which I have a problem with. So if you think you might have problems with bigger pests then by all means, don't add the fish and leftovers. My point is everything that was once living and is organic is going to rot and decay. Put it in your compost bin and once it has cured in about one year, add the "Black Gold" to your soil to feed the soil and recycle at the same time.

The shrub above is Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva', aka as Tardiva Hydrangea. It is a beautiful carefree hydrangea which blooms late in the summer. Make sure you give it a lot of room as it will grow fairly quickly to about 8 feet tall and wide. It can take sun and is more drought tolerant than the big head hydrangeas but will still need to be watered occasionally.

in the garden....