Saturday, October 10, 2009

Just Plain ...!

Can you suggest a caption for this photo?
I have been picking up blackwalnuts (Juglans nigra) over the past few days from the yard.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Compost Mole

Yesterday was a cloudy and cool day to work outside, so I decided to burn a few calories to generate some body heat by cleaning up the garden; screening the 2008 compost pile; closing the recently turned 2009 compost heap; and to begin the over wintering (2009-10) compost heap.
Below is a photo/video sequence of the events.
2008 heap (left) 2009 heap (right)
Sceening the 2008 heap to produce a finished compost.
Screening allows me to remove:
  1. nonbiodegradable materials

  2. return larger biodegradable materials to the overwinter (2010) for further decomposition
Tomato, zucchinni vines along with other garden clean up waste "greens" are spread on the 0ver wintering heap.
Large, biodegradible materials from the screened 2008 pile were spread across the "greens" onto the over winter heap.
A layer of horse manure was spread ontop the screenings.

Screened compost is shoveled onto the finished compost pile.
The finished compost will be held over the winter and used to amend garden soil and side dress summer plantings next spring and summer.
The recently turned 2009 compost pile will heat up, decompose and be turned again over the next few months to speed up decomposition.
The compost piles are covered with an overwintering layer of straw. Finished compost (left pile) Composting pile (2009 - foreground pile)