More on Gardening

Today was a bit cool, but I decided to get out and work on my compost bins.  Here's the story behind them.

About 12 years ago I bought a dump-truck load of what was called "top soil."  When the guy left it in my back yard he said, "Better use it as soon as possible."  Well, one thing led to another, my health had some ups and downs, and the soil sat in place for about four years.  When I went out to take some to use in my Rose Garden, I found it to be a hard as a rock - some topsoil!  More time went on and I would, every so often, take a pick ax to the pile and chop up a few wheel barrow loads.  Each time I would add peat moss, organic matter, and, when I had it, planting soil.  Then I would place the load where I wanted it.  In a few months, the little hill would get hard and difficult to handle.

Thinking about it, I thought, "Well, maybe if I put it into a compost heap with loads of other stuff it would actually soften up."  So last year I built a new set of two compost bins - not very fancy and, to be honest, of rather poor construction.  I am a simple man.  Then I began to add organic matter and grass clippings, layering that with the "topsoil" from my old pile.  In a couple of weeks it got as hard as concrete and when I tried to turn it, I was able only to turn part of it.  By fall I said, "The heck with it," and let it sit over winter.  to the left is a picture, after I tried to turn it all over.  You can see the big clumps of clay.  Welcome to Marion County, Illinois.

Well, now it is spring and I'm determined to get this mess straightened out.  I divided the bin into two piles, separating them by a wire fence.  In one I added all of the peat moss I had, about two bales.  The other awaits my attention.  Over the last week, I've turned the better bin twice and, lo and behold, it is beginning to take shape.  It is fairly easy to handle and lacks the compactness of the clay I had been having, so I feel that I'm on the right track.

As noted previously, I bought 120 pounds of good topsoil in 40 pound bags.  I put that into a trash can parked at one end of the compost bins (there will be a set of three when I'm done.).  Yesterday I bought some limber to use for the front of the bins.  Then today, I finished setting posts for the front of bin #1 and bin #2.  Bin #1 holds the "good compost," while bin #2 has the old stuff.  I also put my new 1" X 6" X 4' boards in the front of Bin #1 and Bin #2, to assist in taking out composted material and adding new material to be composted.

The next stage is to complete bin #3, then turn half of bin #2 into #3, removing the worst clay to the final bin.  I was able to start working the soil in bin #2 today and it is loosening up already.  I added about 12 pounds of kitchen slops to bin #2 and covered it with good topsoil.  Now maybe it can actually begin to compost properly, generating heat as it decays.

Tomorrow or Thursday I'll buy more peat moss (probably only two bales) to split between Bin #2 and Bin #3.  Then I can start the process of working the three bins to get good nutritious compost for the gardens.

I'm something of a "satisficer" - I don't aim for perfection in these things.  The side and read walls of the bins are wire fencing wrapped around metal posts driven into the ground.  That means the walls are not straight, but bow before the weight of the soil.  I'll work on that over time, as well as covers for each of the bins to keep nutrients from leaching away in the rains - although some water is needed for the composting process.  It is all a work in progress and if anyone actually reads this, have pity on me, a poor sinner who doesn't know any better!