What the...?

Lots of kitchen scraps go in my compost bin: vegetable peels, seeds, apple cores, etc.  Early this spring, I turned the piles to help aid the breakdown of all that organic matter.  Despite my best efforts, something in the compost bin didn't decompose; instead, it's growing!

I really don't know what this plant is, just that it's growing noticeably bigger with each passing day. Already it has filled up the middle compost bin and is spilling over into the adjacent bins.  Seriously, this thing is growing 10x faster than anything else in my garden.  A testament to the power of compost, perhaps?

Based on the vining, leaves and blossoms, I'm guessing this is some sort of cucumber or squash.  Already a little something is growing. 

This mystery vegetable is really quite exciting. I just hope it isn't some sort of cannibalistic alien a la Little Shop of Horrors.  If it says to me "Feed me, Amanda!" then I'll know we have a problem. 

Just don't blame it on the compost.

Juvenile detention

While my dear brother Freddy was working on my compost bin, my two little cherubs just had to get involved. Instead of shooing them away, Freddy was kind enough to let them play and take plenty of pictures for me.  Enjoy these pictures of my children in a new kind of juvenile detention.

Thanks to Freddy for the great pictures and amazing compost bin system!  Have a great weekend!

Compost queen

Now that I have a compost bin system, I am quickly becoming a Compost Queen. 

Not the most glamorous title, I know, but I'll take it!  And see the little Compost Princess peering into the wheelbarrow?
For the most part, I followed Martha's Composting 101 guide on her website. 

I started by putting a layer of twigs/branches down to provide aeration underneath the pile.  The lilac bushes didn't survive their relocation, so I yanked those up and cut off the branches for the bottom layers of the first two bins.

Next, I added a layer of manure.  Ideally, a compost pile should have more browns than greens (manure is considered a green) for a better rate of composition but I'm working with what I have. No matter what, this stuff will decompose. Eventually.

I've found that the Little Guy and Little Miss are eager to help Mommy in the garden. I can only hope that this attitude holds over the next ten years.  Maybe they'll love gardening so much that they'll insist that their dear, sweet mother go inside to rest and have a glass of lemonade while they take care of all the garden chores.  That can happen, right?

After the manure, I added a layer of mostly dead grass clippings.  It's my understanding that fresh grass clippings are considered green, and dead grass clippings are considered brown. Can anyone confirm this?

I hope they are brown, because until this fall, all I have for browns are dead grass clippings and shredded newspaper for the piles.

Here's a side view of the bin so you can see how the layered lasagna effect looks:

 

I'm even adding kitchen waste (veggie/fruit cores, peels, etc. No meat or dairy scraps!) to the pile.  For my birthday, I'll probably ask for one of those super-cool small buckets to store scraps for a few days until I can get them outside to the bin. 

In the meantime, this system is working out just fine.  I never knew I could get this excited over a mixture of horse poop, grass clippings and kitchen waste.  All hail the Queen of Compost!

Building the bins

My brother Freddy built the compost bin system while I was at work, and thankfully he documented the process for me with lots of pictures.  Here's a glimpse of all the work it took to make my composting dreams a reality:

Isn't it gorgeous?!  And bonus: this gets me one step closer to Martha-dom!  At this rate, I'll be poised to take the helm of MSLO by the end of the summer.  Thanks again, Freddy!

Martha Monday--Compost

Martha is a master gardener, and master gardeners are all about compost.  Martha is no exception: her compost piles are so big they have to be turned with front end loaders!  

Compost is great for so many reasons: it's great for your soil and plants, and it also keeps organic matter out of landfills and puts it back into the earth where it belongs.  For these and other reasons, I decided to get a compost bin for my yard.  There are many free online plans (just google "compost bin plans") so you can make your own, or you can just buy a ready-made composters found at a home improvement store or online.

For my purposes, I wanted to have one built.  Specifically, I wanted a three-bin system I found on Martha's website:

Of course, while I have big plans to use it, I don't have the time or know-how to build it, and that's where my brother Freddy comes in:  he can build/fix just about anything.  Thankfully he took on this job, and had a bin built in no time.

After it was built, the Big Guy and I moved it out to the backyard against the fence and that's where it will stay for the next few years.  Here it will be mostly protected from the west winds, but exposed to plenty of elements to encourage decomposition.

In keeping with my plans for an organic garden (or at least as organic as I can make it) the bins were built out of cedar planks as opposed to processed/treated lumber.  Cedar will hold up against the weather for years, and since it is not treated, no chemicals will go from the wood to the compost to the ground in which I'm growing healthy veggies for my family.  Win!

For something that's going to hold manure, leaves, grass clippings, dead plants and fruit/veggie waste, that sure is one attractive bin!  Thanks to Freddy for doing such an amazing job!

I'll have detailed pictures of the building process for you tomorrow.  Happy composting!