Thursday, May 15, 2008

Ode to my Sister and her Compost Pile...

A few months ago I visited my sister in sunny Florida and she had started a compost pile. I'm always amazed by her thrifty and industrious nature, but this was something I was even shocked at. Mostly because I have Beagles and having an open compost pile would be an invitation to prolonged and disgusting doggie diarrhea!

Nonetheless, all that she said about it made perfect sense and in trying to live more sustainably, it is a natural fit as long as a person has the room to do it.

But, that said, I didn't want a pile of detritus growing for a couple of years in my yard while it slowly decomposed in a "cold" pile. Something neat, not visually offensive and not a huge racoon draw was what I needed. So I searched for over a month and finally found an inexpensive compost box. This is what it looks like. Thanks Holly. Now, if I could only get it to actually heat up.....



4 comments:

WildernesFamily said...

Does it get enough sun? From the photo it appears to be in a very shady spot.

I second the mulberry tree in your mystery trees btw. I had pet silkworms as a child and fed them mulberry leaves from the trees in our garden. I loved eating mulberries.. always ended up with a purple mouth :)

Holly said...

Wow Christy! That makes me feel so good. What a nice thing to write! I think your box will heat up and if it gets a little more sun and some time. With all your yard clean-up going on I bet you could fill 12 of those compost boxes! Lol!
My compost is coming along nicely and really heating up now! Lol! I turn it about once a week and water it every now and then (not wet, just a little damp). The creepy, crawleys are busy doing their thing. I hope it will be ready by the time fall planting comes around. I think I may start a second pile then so that I can use one and have a pile cooking at the same time.
My next project is collecting worm poo. I read how you can make a worm bin out of an old rubber maid container. Aj has a paper shredder and lord knows we have enough kitchen waste. Anyway, I should have it all together next week.
I love you sister and I love your blog! Keep up the good work and happy gardening!!!

Anonymous said...

I've recently undertaken vermicomposting, which produces compost quicker than most heaps, and is actually a lot of fun. My worms currently live in my basement, and will be garage-dwellers when we move in a couple of weeks, but you can even keep worms inside. I can't have a heap yet, and even when I can, I'm impatient for compost, so the worms are a nice compost compromise. I know this is an old post - how's your compost doing now?

ChristyACB said...

Pamela,

I'm very, very interested in vermiposting! That said, I'd like to actually see someone go through the process of starting and maintaining it, maybe on a blog (hint). I do have Beagles and a cat that eats anything and shouldn't so I do have a concern for that but would love to keep it in the garage.

The compost pile never really heated up and I think it was because it didn't get enough moisture and I couldn't turn it. It was piled just like it should be, but was too heavy to turn. It got sun about 6 hours a day in our blazing hot summer also. It has decayed some at the bottom, but the top just looks like a future archaeological dig.