Finally broke into the 2+ year-old cold-compost pile.........

[vfem]

Wow... see... for me, that's work!

Mine just sits in a pile by the woods, occassionally I turn it and forget about it. Amazingly it always comes out real nice.

 

[boggybranch]

WoooooHoooo....Done and it didn't kill me. Observation for those raising worms: while worm density was high throughout the pile, it was exceptionally high in areas where I had dumped avocados and butternut squash. Here's the finished bed and a closeup of the compost structure. We had a real good rain 2 days ago, so it was pretty clumpy.........and HEAVY.....And after 4 sleepless nights in a row........I bet you I will sleep, tonight. From the compost pile to the raised bed, it's 150 feet..........and EVERY foot of it is UPHILL. Gonna HAVE to change that.

 

[897tgigvib]

Oh Yaaa!

Nice stuff!

ok, we're coming up with some advanced composting techniques!

1) Have a wheelbarrow! Buy, make, or borrow one.
I made a wheelbarrow once from an old battered and bent up one that was thrown away. The cheapo wheel was still good and the bucket was ok. Used 2x4's and carriage bolts and a drill to make the handles. Making the axle for the wheel was tricky, and certain sure anyone else could do it better than me, but I got some ready thread, cut it to like 6 inches, ran it through some holes I drilled on the handles, set the wheel between, discovered I had to redo the nuts. Where I cut the ready thread to length locked that end out. Had to figure on a bunch of old washers, doubled up nuts and stuff. But it worked. Every hundred yards I had to readjust the nuts on the wheel axle. One always loosened itself
It can be done with a plastic or metal barrel too. Have to be cut about in half to a good shape. Any ole wheel with a hole in the middle, like from a broken radio flyer or even an old lawn mower will do.
A better engineer than I was...practically anyone...can do it better than I did. Oh. I had a jig saw and shaped the handle ends with it, then wrapped duct tape around them. Lag screws hold the bucket to the handles. Try to come up with better than screwed on 2x4's for back legs. The single cross piece is a weakness.

My present store bought one is an awesome machine. 129 bucks, heavy duty plastic, 10 cubic feet, steel framing. 2 big wheels in front are best of all! they are flat proof semi pneumatic or something like that. I could run over a million nails and only have a bumpy ride from nails sticking out



2) Make sure the compost pile is uphill if at all possible from your garden.

Awesome stuff Boggy! I'm sure glad you came back! From a person who was not even here when you were here before.

I'm on kind of lunch, coffee break right now. Getting back to filling one of my beds now.

 

[ninnymary]

Boggybranch, do you have more beds to fill? What are you gonna plant there?

You're right, there never is enough compost. I have 2 bins and I keep telling my husband I need a third. But don't have the space for it!

Mary

 

[boggybranch]

Thanks, Marshall....You're right, gonna have to be some changes made up in here.

Mary, I have only three beds, right now. Two of them are 6' X 12' and one that is 2' X 4' (still gotta fill it). Haven't decided when or what I'm gonna plant in this second, big bed, yet, but I plan on settin' out a couple of tomato plants in the small one. Went and picked up some Dipel Dust today, for the collard plants............Apparently the devil has turned the Cabbage Butterflies loose.

 

[Carol Dee]

Oooo I remember red worms being GOOD fish bait, too. As kids we always dug for some to go fishing and caught lots of pan fish.

 

[majorcatfish]

now if i was a worm i would be living there....nice looking good job boggybranch