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Wed, Feb 20, 13 at 13:07
| No question here, just anecdote... It has been a great week of composting here in Missouri, starting the weekend before last actually when I finally bought a product I have been wanting to buy for years: granulated molasses. I was able to clear the shredded leaves off the garden to serve as my supply of browns through the Spring. I left what leaves had rotted to black on top of the garden bed as top dressing. The rest I piled beside my holding bin and even on top of my supposedly finished pile from the fall temporarily. Yesterday, I raked those off into a larger pile and got about a wheelbarrow and a half of finished compost for my tomato-heavy garden bed, but the rest was not quite finished, so I piled it in front of the other working bin. So this morning I put on 5 layers, given that it was down to 9 degrees F. I was skeptical that I would be able to continue working, though I was desperate to do so since it looked definitely half-done and also I wanted to get some control on the situation before the winter storm rolls in tonight. Amazingly, I was able to dig into the last foot or so of compost from my "finished" pile, even finding some stink - from the anaerobic decomposition at the bottom. But that didn't surprise me as much as the hundreds of red wigglers that I found active towards the top of my "working" pile as I started turning it over. It was a beautiful thing, layering stuff from the "finished pile" with stuff from the "working" pile interspersed with layers of leaves and sprinkling granulated molasses every couple layers or so. It was pure compost heaven! And to top it off, two fat little robins were sitting on the fencing around my bins, just waiting for me to go take a swig of chai so they could root around for worms. They definitely had a nice breakfast and while watching them, they gave me the chance to settle my spirit for the day. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I was out turning compost when I spied my neighbor struggling with a pile of fresh wood chips. She leaned across the fence and asked if she could borrow my shovel. I gladly obliged. As she plunged the spade into the steaming pile of fresh wood chips I couldn't help but notice her shapely hips and firm buttocks. The red wigglers in my compost pile giggled with glee as I made my way closer to my neighbor. She welcomed my advance and we fell back on the warm pile of fresh wood chips, our bodies tangled like an english ivy vine in a pine tree. Later we would laugh about the time we pruned the rose bush in December. |
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| Letter to Composthouse? |
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| -28C with a -39C windchill this morning. 2 foot snow bank across the driveway. I am insanely jealous. Lloyd |
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| well, then we are downright tropical! |
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- Posted by sunnyside1 z6/SW Mo. (My Page) on Wed, Feb 20, 13 at 22:07
| Doowad -- Inspiring! Allen 456 - Loved it! Sunny |
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| Yes, compost is a beautiful thing. Gazing out o'er the snow-covered fields, this thread is a breath of that earthy, organically scented, slightly fetid air that draws us back .... ever back. IALBTC. |
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- Posted by TheMasterGardener1 5B (My Page) on Thu, Feb 21, 13 at 11:52
| "Zen and the Art of Compost Maintenance" Wow! I had no idea that 'Zen' or 'Art' had anything to do with the science of converting organic material into inorganic elements? ;) |
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| Why sure it does, plus the zen of being one with nature at the crack of down. But the link below shows my literary allusion. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Recommended Book
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