Saturday, October 26, 2013

How To Make Compost ~ The Easy Way


If you've followed me for any length of time, you know I love to dig in the dirt, 
aka, gardening.

I can't tell you how many bags(and trailers full) of dirt and compost I've purchased.
It seems a little silly when you actually say it out loud. 
Some of you with gorgeous brown dirt might even think I'm a little crazy, but all of you with red clay know what I'm talking about.
Those of us with red clay have to amend our soil because pretty things and veggies just won't grow in it.


Ugh, is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of a 
 big. ugly. compost pile.
and turning and turning and more turning.

But, I don't do  that...
like the title said, it's the easy way. You might be able to compost the easy way too, if the conditions are right.
So how do I get around the big ugliness of a compost pile?
 I'm going to show you pics of the two large compost piles in my backyard. 


Do you see a pile in this pic?


How about in this one? 
 Both piles are pretty hidden by shrubs. 

See it now?


Here's where the other one is. 

compostHere's a closeup of the first pic. It's a pile of composted horse manure that one of our friends with a horse farm gave us. It's already composted and smells like fresh earthy dirt. I didn't make this dirt, but I wanted to show you that I disguised such a big pile.



This is the pile we actually have been composting. It's hidden between our north property line and a row of shrubs.


Here's how we make earthy black gold~ the easy way:
In the Fall, Mr. Fanatic collects and shreds the leaves that fall on our lawn with the lawn mower and put them in a big pile. We have a riding lawn mower with a bagger on it. The key is to shred the leaves really good.
The next step is to let  the pile sit and get rained on. I watered the big pile in the Fall a couple of times, but we get a lot of rain in the Spring and Summer. Make sure the compost pile gets some sun because the sun and the rain(and the worms) break down the leaves.
That's it.
If you turn the pile it will break down faster,  but I'm doing it the lazy easy way, remember?

Here's a pic of how the leaves have broken down so far. It still has a ways to go. This pile was almost finished "cooking" when I took this pic several months ago. It has tons of worms in it. Which is good. 

When it's finished, it will look like good old black dirt. 
If you're lucky and you have shredded leaves, sun and rain, you can make dirt, er compost the easy way too. 
I'm still in disbelief that I've posted about how to make dirt.
lol. 
I promise my next post will be about something pretty.
Pam

Disclaimer: The above post is how we made compost. I don't take any responsibility for any errors or results obtained from using this information. When using power tools, use safety equipment.



1 comment:

  1. I have a small compost pile that I place vegetable and fruit waste in. also coffee grounds. I layer some leaves in. i use this for my small flower garden. It is behind our pergola and it is surrounded by pine straw and not noticeable like yours. I cannot imagine not composting.

    ReplyDelete

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