I am in a relatively rural neighborhood but a fair amount of traffic goes by the property. This collection of compost looks, to the average passerby, like a big pile of trash. Time to clean it up!
Since I'd already decided where to relocate the compost, it was a simple (?) matter of moving it. Yeah, moving approximately one ton of compost was going to be simple. Ha!
The empty compost bins got moved first. I'm no idiot, gotta warm up the muscles before calling in the big guns. Next, the composting material in the full bin had to be moved. That took some time but wasn't too difficult. It had the added benefit of mixing up the materials and gave me the opportunity to dampen the pile throughout as I chucked it into one of the previously empty bins.
When that was complete, my first decision loomed. One bin was now full. There are two other bins and an intent to eventually build a large three-bin system but who knows when that will actually happen. After reading how Ruthie planned to turn her compost back and forth between two bins to keep it well-mixed, I'd been thinking that was a good idea. The only drawback is it requires leaving one bin empty all the time, available for the monthly transfer of compost. What the heck, why not try it and see how it goes. The two rectangular bins on the left will be used for this process.
One bag of composting chicken manure went into the round composter behind the wheelbarrow. It will start the new pile for kitchen scraps. There is still a wee bit of goat manure left in the black trashcan along with a little bit of loose hay to use as cover material. Since there's lots of packing paper from the move, it will be shredded to use as the browns (carbon) in the pile. Once that runs out, I'll check with the local feedstore about getting some loose straw or hay again. (Note: the blue trashcan holds our own potting soil mix ready to use.)
The many bags of compost were still taunting me with their trashy look and enormous volume. I wanted to contain them somehow but not have to dump them out yet without the containers to hold the loose material while it finished composting. Setting a couple of tin sheets (picked up from a curb several years ago) on edge, held in place with salvaged blocks from the wash, created a nice little corral. A couple layers of rocks formed a back edge. One by one, I hauled the bags over to the new corral.
By piling them all up on one side, I hoped to accomplish three things:
1. Leave room to dump them out to the right if I decided that was a better way to go,
2. Concentrate them to keep them composting in the bags (more heat), and
3. Be able to cover them with a tarp so it doesn't look like I've started my own personal dumpsite.
I have to say, this looks a lot better than the previous pile o' bags.
And, best of all, I situated everything perfectly in the blindspot from my office. My views are not obstructed but my bags are conveniently turning into black gold right out there in the yard.
10 comments:
Wow, great job! It looks nicely organized! How's your back feeling :)
Seriously, they cited her for HAZARDOUS WASTE??!?
-Susan
My back is, surprisingly, doing fine this morning.
Yep, seriously. Admittedly, she doesn't compost it. I've noticed that a lot of people with livestock and horses do not compost their manure, opting instead to haul it off (or get others to haul it off). I'm not sure why this is - maybe they simply don't have time or they get overwhelmed with the quantity of manure.
A job well done. When your gardens are growing rich and bountiful, you'll get to experience this sense of satisfaction all over again.
Too bad your friend doesn't compost her goat poo. What a fabulous source of nutrients, not to mention the partially digested fiber.
I'm in awe at the amount of compost you have.
Looks awesome! Think of all the calories you burned :-)
Nice work! Glad you are not suffering from all that hard work. I have a mountain of aged, composted horse manure. Just got a bunch of free pallets from a local greenhouse and plan to post about our three bay compost system sometime soon.
Interesting what you say about your friend with the goats.
Our local council here is thinking about bringing in a law forcing people to pick up after their sheep.
One of my neighbours has 100 ewes on his property. Can you imagine? Yeah right! And if he went away for a few weeks, he'd be picking up thousands of poos!
If the council brings it in, we farmers (wow, I can't believe I'm saying that) will organise a ceremonial dumping of sheep shit on the council's front steps. That'll fix them.
Maybe your friend with the goats should do the same!
Nice. I imagine you want to get as much done before the heat really kicks in.
Very nice. You would make a good neighbor.
Job well done. Looks very, very, nice. And, you're still walking upright...that's a good sign, don't you think?
Kathryn - thanks. I think my friend with the goats is too busy to deal with composting. She's got a lot of goats to feed, water, milk, and breed, not to mention showing them. She's more than happy to have others come take the manure to compost, though.
mollyjade - it's the result of a lot of hard work collecting materials!
Ruthie - ha! Sadly, these days I'm consuming more than I need. I hope to almost finish unpacking the kitchen this afternoon which will make it far easier to cook. It's also supposed to be a HOT day so the solar ovens are comin' out.
nomikins - we haven't decided what to use for building the compost system, but it may be pallets, too. Will be interested to see your post (and pictures).
daharja - If you do that, will you post a picture please? :)
I think my friend actually has problems with her neighbors complaining. Stupid people move out to the sticks and then get upset about rural life. I have about as much sympathy for them as the ones that buy right next to the local Airforce base and then complain about the noise from the jets. Duh...
nova - no kidding! I'm more mentally alert in the mornings, though, so right now the personal projects get pushed to the afternoon so I can concentrate on cerebral work more in the mornings. Thankfully, we are a little cooler than in the city.
And yes, I generally am a good neighbor. I was raised to be considerate of others and have a hard time breaking that conditioning no matter how inconsiderate other neighbors may be. Doesn't mean I will tolerate anything, though. Girl's gotta have her limits.
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