Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Mid Atlantic region- winter chores, 1 by Gitagal

Gitagal wrote:
More than likely I will be digging some of the "done" compost in when I plant my Tomatoes.

Now--have to tell you, that the "done" stuff is about 2' down in this S.E.M. (Stupid Earth Machine). I was thinking this is the year (again) that I will disassemble the S.E.M. and remove the top half of all the stuff in it to get to the GOOD stuff down below.

I did it 2 years ago---I think.....maybe 3.
I spread a tarp on the ground and piled all the stuff from the upper 2/3 of the contents--the stuff NOT yet totally composted.
Then I got my wheelbarrow and started digging the "gold" into that. Oh the big, red worms in that part!!!! Will throw them all back into the composter once I re-fill it with the not-yet-composted stuff.
For me--this is a huge job! One should not have to do all this to gain finished compost for one's Garden! NO! That is why this thing is so "stupid"......
However--that is all I have to work with. The edges of this "machine" have been cracking for a long time. Pretty soon--it will have weathered to the point where I will not be able to use it any more. THAT IS WHY IT IS "STUPID"......

Here she is--in all her glory--on a base made of 2x8x16 concrete paver blocks.
The S.E.M. has no base--so it sits on whatever platform you have given it.
I KNOW the maple tree roots from the nearby maple will have invaded this awesome, nutritious compost from between the cracks of the concrete blocks. I saw them the last time I performed this "procedure".....On the positive side--that is also--more than likely--where all the fat worms came from. So--good and evil balances out here....

Ain't she a "beauty"?????..........wretch.....