Archive for the ‘Composting’ Category

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Composting

13 February 2011

Three days after the blizzard of 2/1/2011, the active compost pile had an internal temperature of 105°F; today, it was down to 100°F. It had a lot of snow around it acting as insulation. I’m thinking that next year I should stack straw bales around the active compost pile in October.

I added 70 gallons of coffee grounds and 15 gallons of kitchen waste to the compost pile today. I tend to let it build up when it’s cold outside, but this was a bit much — it took over two hours, and it was definitely a workout

It’s sunny, breezy, and in the mid-40s today. Just a few days ago it was 12 below.

I was going to get up on the roof and sweep the chimney today, but there was still too much snow up there for me to do it safely. We’re supposed to have this mild weather for another several days, so I may get a chance yet this week.

Posted in Burning wood, Composting, Exercise | Leave a Comment »

Getting Ready for Growing

28 March 2010

Another Sunday work day.

  • Watered hazelnuts I planted last fall.
  • Dug up area where collars and kale were last year, since it didn’t get dug last fall. Dug in a couple of gallons of coffee grounds. Pulled up the remaining collard roots and stalks and put them in the compost pile. Found lots of worms.
  • Several of the kale plants I planted last July made it through the winter (without any shelter other than the snow) and are growing new leaves. I watered those. I wonder if they’ll try to go to seed right away. If they do, I will let them and harvest the seed.
  • Dug a trench around upper edge of new west beds and dumped in contents of char/urine/fish emulsion bucket. Looked like not so much char and a lot of small pieces of uncharred wood. Sigh.
  • Dug up some clumps of sod in what last year was the new potato ground, and a few potatoes with it. I never got around to digging all the potatoes last fall. It was just so labor intensive and I was getting barely more potatoes out of it than I had planted. It was discouraging and put me off the idea of surviving on potatoes, although it would have been easier to dig them up if the ground had been worked properly. Corn. Corn is the answer.
  • Put a plastic tarp over some of the grassy area north of the fence, near the hazelnuts. I want to kill that grass over the next two months and plant some corn there.
  • Found a big piece of black plastic folded over next to the foundation of the garage. I started to unfold it and realized there was a nest of carpenter ants inside. I quickly dragged it to the back fence and threw it over, then went around and opened it up, hoping the birds would eat them. I hate carpenter ants. At least they weren’t inside the garage or house, although having them that close to it is kind of a bad sign.
  • Turned over the soil in the three raised beds. It’s in very good shape, and is ready for planting as soon as we dare.
  • Did the composting.
  • Removed the plastic trash can from under the SW drainspout, as it was cracked and not holding water. Extended the downspout a couple of feet to keep the water away from the foundation. I need to get serious about rainwater collection this year.
  • Untaped the two inside house windows I had taped last fall to keep out the wind.

And in a sure sign of a warm, dry spring, the little brown ants have re-invaded the kitchen.

But we’re only gardeners. If we don’t have animals, we’re not farmers. It’s pathetic, but I want to be a farmer, even though I am clueless about animal husbandry and haven’t the heart to do what needs to be done.

Posted in Biochar, Composting, Gardening, Water | Leave a Comment »

Composting

1 February 2010

Composted 10 5-gallon buckets of various stuff yesterday, mostly coffee grounds. That was a lot of work. It built up because I was out of state for 12 days and it’s been cold, which makes it difficult.

The main compost pile is now close to being frozen — it was reading 35°F in the middle of the pile, and it had a frozen layer outside of that I was unable to fully break through with my compost fork. I pulled the straw aside and put the new stuff on top, which worked okay for now, but it’s going to get tall fast if this situation continues. The worst of the cold weather should be pretty much over (famous last words), so maybe it will thaw a bit and become more active in the coming weeks.

Finished filling my 5-gallon bucket of char with a mix of roughly 50/50 urine/fish emulsion (diluted to normal fertilizer strength). That will soak for a few months, then it will go into the West beds.

Still trying to figure out ways to make char. I may try buying some of those wood pellets that you use in a pellet stove both to heat the retort and to turn into char.

Posted in Biochar, Composting, Gardening | Leave a Comment »

And There You Have It

20 December 2009

M works in an institutional kitchen. That kitchen makes an effort to do the right thing by composting the voluminous vegetable wastes they produce and growing some of their own food.

However, M told me today that that effort is run by volunteers, and stops in the Winter. So for 5 months or so, all their vegetable scraps go to the landfill. What a waste!

I don’t blame them, and I’m not passing judgment. I know that composting in the Winter is difficult and time-consuming. I made some additions to the compost pile today, and what with the temperature being in the low 20s (°F), and cleaning out the buckets afterwards, and just moving through the deep snow, it was no fun. And if I feel so strongly about it, why don’t I volunteer to do it?

But still, that just goes to show you the shallowness of the effort to recycle and create a sustainable food system, even at an institution that, in general, cares about environmental and social issues. If it mattered enough to the higher-ups at that institution, composting would happen all year round.

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Worms

16 November 2009

So the worm bin in the kitchen was beginning to smell. When I picked up the bottom lid that was there to catch runoff, there was a ball of worms underneath it. So they were obviously unhappy about what was happening inside their bin.

It had been almost two years since I set up that bin, and I’d never emptied it out, only added to it. Yeah, that wasn’t smart, and it was my fault.

I moved the worms into an old plastic trash can I had previously used to keep worms. I put some straw and a few dead leaves in the bottom, wet it down, then scraped off the top, freshest worm bedding along with most of the worms from the old bin and dumped it in there. Then I put the lid on it and carried it down to the basement. There are a few holes around the top of the trash can for air.

The plan should be to use most of the worm bedding in the garden every Spring, holding back just enough bedding and as many worms as possible to get a new bin going. That new bin should spend the summer outside and come in when it gets cold.

Posted in Composting, Gardening | Leave a Comment »

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