Tue Mar 29, 2005
Just Garbage [Gardening]
It's that time of year again. Time to plant early crops, like potatos. I swore I wasn't going to plant potatoes this year...but now I am, largely because I have some that I forgot about under the sink and they're already more or less underway. Yes, I AM aware that that doesn't say a lot for my qualifications as a housekeeper, but The Hub is the one who put them there and didn't tell me and also he's the one who uses that space to store stuff.
Anyway, I'm ordering my seeds from an organic outfit called Seeds of Change which I think is actually a pretty funny name for them since they kind of specialize in Heirloom Plants.
I went out to see what was going on with the compost pile I started last year, and found out that nothing is really going on with it. It's not cookin'. In order for the stuff you stick in the compost pile to break down and turn into compost it's got to get kind of warm, and moisture is needed.
Of course, I could only see the top layer. I have a compost bin. I'm hopeful that what's on the bottom actually is compost. I mean, after all, all the veggie scraps we threw out there for a year, along with the yard waste, eggshells, coffee grounds and tea leaves has to have turned into something - otherwise it would be overflowing the compost bin. Part of the problem is that it doesn't get turned regularly. The Hub goes out there and pokes it with a stick. When he remembers. Look, I realize all of this sounds pretty low tech, but it worked for the cave people who were all of our ancestors and look where we are today! Ok, nevermind.
So, I went to visit my father to borrow his pitchfork. I told him about the problem with the compost pile.
"What does it look like?" he asked.
"Garbage" I said.
"No, but I mean, how does it look?" he asked, still puzzled
"Not metaphorical garbage! It looks like garbage, garbage! I mean, it isn't breaking down!"
"Oh well maybe it needs lime, Or seaweed, but that's expensive."
So, I'm going to turn it with the pitchfork and see what's under the top layer - please God that it isn't just more smushed garbage - and then Dad's going to come by to have a look at it to tell me what it needs. He comes from a family of organic gardners who have been at it since time out of mind: this is a subject on which he and my grandmother, who is still gardening at 90, are like the whole internet all by themselves.
Anyway, I hope I can get something to develop out there before those potatoes grow up through the drain in an effort to get to sunlight. I can't believe this is my house!
Maybe if you stir the compost heap and add some worms and a little dirt. It shouldn't be that big of a deal.
Posted by: Theresa at March 30, 2005 8:21 AMLime is cheap and it works. Have you searched the net for other things that might help? I'd like to start my own heap, but most of my garbage isn't what I throw away as much as it's what I say :)
Posted by: yobruva at March 30, 2005 8:21 PMCall me a copycat, but after reading this blog I got some Seeds of Change, too. I saw them at The Health Concern in Towson, Maryland.
Posted by: Theresa at March 31, 2005 4:07 PMHoney, I know alllllllll about compost. Tell me what's under the top layer and I'll tell you what to do. Also:
1) the decomposition slows down in the winter
2) you need to be adding carbon sources too, not just nitrogen. Nitrogen sources are green things, like veggie scraps, tea leaves, grass clippings. If you're adding brown leaves, eggshells (you'd need a lot), or shredded newspaper, that's brown (carbon) material. A common mistake people make is to throw all their grass clippings in there...that's a LOT of nitrogen and consequently the compost ends up really acidic and the little buggies are unable to break things down...which is why it helps when people add lime to their compost.
3) if you're adding carbon sources to the bin, you don't need to turn the compost very often. Once every couple months is plenty.
4) your bin should be on dirt, or grass. if it's on concrete, or a wooden platform, or whatever, all the microorganisms (and wormies) that do the decomposition can't get into it from below. If you put it on the ground, things will go wayyy more smoothly.
5) you can also buy and add a special kind of worm (Eisenia foetida, or red wrigglers) that decompose veggie scraps like mad. But, if your bin is on the ground, they'll migrate there by themselves, and save you $20 buying them.
Hope that helps!
Posted by: Devilcat at April 1, 2005 2:01 PM