Well, it’s that time of year again – using the compost pile in the garden.<\/p>\n
What is compost?\u00a0 “It is a mixture (compositon) of decomposing vegatable\u00a0refuse used to fertilize soil.”\u00a0 It’s uneaten garbage.\u00a0 You know, unused\u00a0or uneaten parts of fruits and vegetables (e.g., orange peels, tomato skins, celery tails, onion skins, garlic skins, egg shells, banana peels avacado skins, and many other roots and peels).\u00a0\u00a0Such things are naturally ‘biodegradeable.\u00a0 They break down easily, releasing their nutrients for future use, specifically to enhance\u00a0any and all\u00a0garden-growing efforts.<\/p>\n
Seeds of ANY kind are not allowed.\u00a0 This includes seeds from tomatoes, avacadoes, grapes, potato ‘eyes,’ apple and pear\u00a0cores, peach and cherry pits, pineapple tops, etc.\u00a0 Neither\u00a0are meat by-products and any kind (e. g. chicken,\u00a0beef\u00a0 and pork bones, skin or fatty meat\u00a0portions that you do not eat).\u00a0\u00a0Those go out\u00a0in the weekly trash bin for city pick ups.<\/p>\n
Containers for such a project are available at local retailers or free<\/em>\u00a0when you sit in at a “compost meeting” usually held\u00a0each Spring at\u00a0a county meeting where you live.\u00a0 That\u00a0is how I first became aware of such a thing.\u00a0 With such encouragement, \u00a0I have been composting for fifteens years.<\/p>\n The large bins I possess\u00a0are black, round, hard plastic contianers\u00a0with holes all around the circumference for airation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Approximately four feet high and three feet in diameter, two such bins\u00a0have been\u00a0placed\u00a0outside, away from my back foor, but easily accessible in order to\u00a0dump my garbage.\u00a0 Hidden behind\u00a0a small oak and fica\u00a0tree, their unsighlty presence is not in plain view.<\/p>\n Other than\u00a0my collection of kitchen garbage, two\u00a0large bags of soil are added\u00a0twice a year.\u00a0 Once the soil is mixed\u00a0with\u00a0my garbage (using a round-nosed shovel and oftimes\u00a0a pitchfork), water is added.\u00a0 As it sits and sits there usually over the course of a year, insects and worms, natural inhabitants, bore their way through this seemingly mucky, but organized,\u00a0mess.\u00a0 Their presence further enhances and propagates the decomposing process.<\/p>\n After tilling my already used vegatable\u00a0and herbal garden areas, the compost is added.\u00a0 It is heavy and a wheelbarrel\u00a0and shovel are used\u00a0to bring it to my desired areas.\u00a0 Mix, mix and mix some more.\u00a0 This project has taken me two to three days to prepare before I am satisfied to plant.<\/p>\n All in all, it is worth it.\u00a0 Hard work usually is.\u00a0 Satisfaction is guaranteeed\u00a0year-in and year-out once I see the buds of my labor and its magnificent harvest.\u00a0 I delight in the opportunity to walk out my back door, gather what fruits I need for a days’ meal, returning the usnused portions to the bins.\u00a0 It is a continuous cycle.<\/p>\n The following link will shed some different lights on this topic as well.\u00a0 Hey, it’s all in the soup, haha!\u00a0 http:\/\/backyardgrowers.com\/23-ingenious-diy-compost-bin-ideas\/.\u00a0 Until next time, happy gardening!<\/p>\n A. K. Buckroth<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well, it’s that time of year again – using the compost pile in the garden. What is compost?\u00a0 “It is a mixture (compositon) of decomposing vegatable\u00a0refuse used to fertilize soil.”\u00a0 It’s uneaten garbage.\u00a0 You know, unused\u00a0or uneaten parts of fruits … Continue reading