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Compost January 2011
··· Jan 13 2011 · By ···
Since we put in the compost bin, there have been some ups and downs. Let’s see, where to start…
Ups
- It is, in fact, working. We toss stuff in the top, and stir it around a bit, and there is some blackish, dirt(ish) earthy smelling matter.
- Bugs of all kinds seem to like hanging out in there. Most common are the fruit flies and I see ants marching around in there. The ants tried to store some eggs in there, but I thwarted that effort.
- It doesn’t smell horrible, really. There are times, when it has gone too long without turning – resulting in a little ripeness down wind. For the most part it isn’t that bad.
- We put bread and cracker type crumbs on the top of the bin when it’s closed so the birds can have a little place to land and peck around, the squirrels probably dig it up there too.
Downs
- The mealy worms that were in there aren’t in there any longer. This is probably one of the reasons why the breakdown has slowed down.
- Another reason the pile is not running at top capacity is that it is wet in there. This is a combination of not enough ventilation, and too much letting water in, and poor ventilation in the compost as a result of just not enough brown stuff.
- Cheap bin = sharp edges, brittle plastic. You gotta be careful when you reach into a bin like we have. Edged with a sharp, err, edge around the opening, reaching in can result in chunks of the back of your hands and fingers being planed off. I always wear my gloves anyway, but one day I didn’t… The dig out openings at the bottom have removable doors. They are held on with 4 tabs each, one has chipped off already
What’s next?
So the plan for it right now is to work some more dry stuff into the mix. I am going to have to get Dorothy out there one day and help me empty it so we can cut some holes into the bottom so worms can find their way into and out of the pile. I am also keeping my eyes peeled for some worms. I might have a line on some in SF or Oakland, stay tuned.
Our garden tool collection has started to grow again, thanks to an unexpected gift from our friend Todd! We sold our nice clutch of garden tools when we moved a few years back, so we have been needing to get our hands on some tools so we can have fun playing in the dirt. For turning the pile, and other ground work, a pitch fork, and for general digging around, we got a short handle digging shovel. (yay) For our needs this year, that’s a good place to start. (Update: we had to take the original pitchfork back because the fork part wasn’t connected tightly and it twisted on the shaft as I tried to turn the pile.)
We share the pile with our neighbors, and plan to share with them some of the goodness that the nourishing compost helps us grow as we start to get our garden growing in the next few months.
Whatcha reading?
I picked up Easy Compost (Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guide) (Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guides)
Our Yard and Towhee Friends
··· Sep 23 2010 · By ···
One of the things I enjoy most about living in different places is getting to know the nature of the area: plants, trees, flowers, birds, creatures, rocks, and minerals. Marin, as we had hoped and envisioned, is proving to be excellent for communing with/observing/learning from nature, which is abundant here, in our own back (side) yard and beyond. Wherever we are, Jeph and I both tend to be very keyed into the rhythms/language/energy/spirit of the Universe and its natural manifestations. Choosing to be in places where man made objects have not taken over and suppressed nature is a priority for us. That is why we chose Marin – there is still a lot of, blessed, Open Space here. Space to explore, observe, learn, and just Be. And that is one of the top reasons we chose our new home – all along its side is a yard, and every room has one or more windows looking out onto that yard (except for the bathroom, which has a window looking onto the street and hills, from tree level.) It is full of trees, many of them new to us, and we are gradually learning their names: acacia being one.
We share the yard with many creatures: lots of spiders (who’s webs we admire, and try to avoid walking through), squirrels – gray and red (who’s daring acrobatics entertain us daily), butterflies and moths (I see more here, and wherever we go in Marin, than I’ve ever seen before – some very pretty), hornets (not a favorite, because they sting, but we coexist peacefully), deer (at least occasionally, because they left some scat behind one night), and many birds. Crows fly past and we can see and hear them in the tall trees of neighboring yards. Hawks (and possibly falcons and golden eagles – its hard to tell from far away) soar overhead throughout the day. Even without nectar producing flowers, hummingbirds hover through at least once or twice a week. Scrub jays are vocal regulars and we like them as much as blue jays, maybe even more because they’re a bit scrappier. And there are four so far that we are delighted to be meeting for the first time: dark eyed juncos, plain titmice, a white crowned (or other?) sparrow, and towhees.
We heard the towhees before we saw them. That’s what makes them particularly fun to have around – they scratch around in the leaves looking for food. At first, we assumed it was just the local squirrels doing their thing, but the rustling went on for a long time and finally got our attention. We saw a black and orange bird and it was really funny to watch him kick up the leaves and dirt. So we looked in our bird book and found out he was a towhee. Cool name! There are several types of towhees – these are “rufous sided.” They visit us every day, with the female joining sometimes (the picture if of her), and we always get a kick out of their hopping and scratching.
Towhees, large ground-feeding sparrows with long, rounded tails, are often seen scratching for insects and seeds under shrubbery or brush. They hop and kick with both feet together; usually fly close to the ground, pumping their tail.
-from the Golden Guide to Field Identification – Birds of North America
Composting – The Beginning
··· Jul 11 2010 · By ···
Now that we’ve had our own compost pile, and then curbside compost pickup in Oakland which, surprisingly, Marin does not offer yet (NOTE: this could be a good community/environmental activism project for me…), and then access to my sister’s giant compost heap in Newton, MA, there’s no turning back. It’s kind of on par with how once you’ve had your own washer and dryer, you’re spoiled for life – only this is more important, because we’re talking about the health of the planet, not just how easy it is to wash and dry your dirty clothes.
So our first week in our new home, we were tossing kitchen scraps into the brush along the edge of our yard. But, we generate a pretty hefty scrap load and didn’t want to start attracting “vermin” so we put “Find local composter options” on the Action List and started putting our scraps in the garbage disposal and trash. It was painful, every day, but we were so busy unpacking boxes, setting up our home, and dealing with the million and one logistics of getting settled in a new place. I had hoped to find a program offering subsidized compost bins through the City of San Rafael or Marin Sanitary Service (garbage and recycling service in San Rafael) but couldn’t find any information. (Only just now, as I dug even deeper into the maze of sites for recycling in Marin, did I find out about a program offered via College of Marin. It’s tucked away on page 6 of the Marin County Recycling Guide. I couldn’t actually find details of the program on the College of Marin website, though. NOTE: more reason to take this on as a community/environmental activism project.)
It took several weeks but finally we carved out time on a Saturday afternoon to shop around for a composter. First we checked our local hardware store, Jacksons, preferring, of course, to give our business to a local business. They had a few options – all substantially more than we wanted to spend. (We figured $50 was really more than enough to spend for what would likely be a made-in-china, quite basic plastic bin.) We moved on to Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) which doesn’t carry any composters (and didn’t impress us in general.) At that point I was ready to throw in the towel (this was just part of a typical Saturday marathon of errands) but Jeph dragged me to the big orange chain store and they actually came through for us. We went with a 3x3x3 black plastic box with a lid. The good news: recycled plastic(!); made in Israel (not China!); and $50 (right where our budget topped out.) We were Very Excited.
Jeph built it in the yard, following directions, and ended up with the two side panels on upside down! It came apart pretty quickly, he flipped the side panels over, then hooked in the bottom panel. The lid snapped on and we hauled it into place.
Per Jeph” I know, I know,,, you’re going to ask…why didn’t you build it out of some reclaimed wood, or brick or other scrap material? You guys are crafty/handy and into creative re-use, right? Here’s my answer to that. In the urban neighborhood we live in, this self contained unit is right for the application, and DIY’ing this would have further delayed getting all that organic material where it belongs: in the continual cycle of growth and decomposition – and not stuck in a plastic bag, in a huge pit in the earth. Don’t worry, we’ll be creatively re-using in other household/craft projects.”
Even though we had a compost pile of our own before, it’s been a few years now, and it was just that: a pile. A bin environment is a little different and also it’s just good to research what you’re working on and take an informed approach. Jeph learned that the healthiest ratio for composting is 2 parts brown (twigs, leafs, grass, etc) to 1 part green (food scraps), though it depends on the info source because I read 5:1 or even 8:1, so we’ll shoot for somewhere in the middle, 3:1-ish. Tossing in a little bit of some existing compost, and maybe a few worms (the next phase of this project), keeping it wet (but not too wet), and turning it over regularly, will get the pile humming along, encouraging the healthy microorganisms to flourish and do their job.
Our little yard has a lot of potential and our green thumbs are itching to start raking, pruning, digging, planting, and tending. The rich compound generated by our bin will be put to good use. Composting is an exercise in patience, though. Again, depending on the info source, (and drawing on our own experience and common sense) it will probably take about 3-4 months before our pile is kicking out the good stuff. That gives us plenty of time to keep researching and practicing techniques, clearing and tidying the yard, and envisioning/sourcing plantings!
