My black gold mine

The pile has shrunk down to 3 ft. again from 4 1/2 ft the first of the week. But is is hot and the middle layer is decomposing. With the amount od shrinkage I think the base is probably 3/4 done already ;~)

Zany,
Good for you! I like the hot piles! What is the red stuff on top, leaves? Is that a pitchfork, I need to buy one? Who built the bin? Sorry, so many questions!

The red stuff is redwood needles which are generally slow to decompose but with the heat they are melting like butter! Gotta love an almost endless supply of browns!

The Bin is 2 x 12 solid redwood planks from the old sawmill kilns which we scored for free and put together to use as a raised planter. But first we (as in I informed DH) decided to use it to create at least most of the "soil" for it by making compost.

Eventually the bin will have a narrow second tier at the back and a bench seat in front with lots of pretty plants feeding off that wonderfu black gold. LOL, Hard to envision it I know, but in my minds eye it is beautiful!

Zany,
Looks good! I wish mine was as beautiful. My back yard now looks like a landfill, garbage bags everywhere! LOL!!!!

All the garbage bags are folded neatly and are in the back of my car to be reused hauling more of the brown stuff home monday.

Thats what I want to do with mine. I didn't realize your pile of browns was 9' tall!

That is what it WAS at the park before I started hauling it home. I have that wtack down to about 4 ft now and am bring more home next week. But the season isn't over yet and the guys will build it back to 9-12 ft tall again in no time!

We are thinking about waiting until the compost / planter is finished and then hauling in more needles to use on the ground as mulch in front of the planter to keep the mud down since that is the pooches bathroom and grass can't survive there. It is that or extend the gravel and river rocks to that side too... not sure yet which will win out.

zanymuse, that is lovely!

I got some free gravel w/ some leaves I picked up. Must be from the parking lot or something. Owell, there in between the pile,so.

Won't hurt anything, and should you decide to sift your compost at the end (an option, not a directive) you'll get them right back out.

Gravel is a good thing, especially in the driveway. LOL Ok I submitted my article on growing fall broccoli today. It's my first and I'm nervous. sigh........

Hey, that takes some gumption, good for you! You have that to be proud of, if nothing else.

Now, where's our link, huh?

Cool, we have a writer with us! I'm not overly fond of broccoli but seem to eat a lot of it anyway! So do they notify you when they are going to use the article or does it just show up when they need it and you get to be surprised?

I'm number 8 in the que for approval
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/manage/view.php?status=5
I hope it passes..........grin

Of course it will pass! But that link is for those of you who are writing the articles and the rest of us are not allowed to peek. ;~)

Well, shucks, I didn't realize that............guess you'll have to write and article too then!

LOL, I think some folks think I write enough in the forums as it is!

Well, then you have readers........grin
My compost bins and part of the leaf bags........

That reminds me! I need to fill a few bags of the redwood needles , dampen them down poke a few holes in it and leave them to see how long they take to decompose on their own! Curiosity is a wonderful thing! I know that other leaves in a bag take about a year for me that way but the redwood leaves are much slower I am told so I want to check it out!

Of course, the person that told me that also told me that the worms can't get into my compost heap because of the layer of drainage gravel I put in as a base. Good thing the worms don't know that!

You didn't read them that book? What's up with that? Evidently that is not a fisherman either.....worms are sneaky lil critters, neither gravel nor the lid on a bait can is a real challenge for them, I've found.......grin

I have been careful not to let them into the library and to screen the newspapers or shred them well to keep my wiggly friends in the darkness of ignorant bliss.

Amazing...worms can't travel through gravel?
Z - was this individual a gardener? My vegetable garden is all raised beds with gravel paths between the beds. The gravel layer is about 6 - 8" thick, and there are worms that hang out in the top 2 inches or so.

On another note - the bagged compost did not produce a foul odor. But I didn't think it would from the bottom of the bin.

LOL, if I knew 1/00th of what this self proclaimed "expert" knows an any and every subject you can imagine I would be a genius of monumental proportions!

Does killing a few annuals each spring constitute being a gardener?

ROFLMAO!! Gotta love it! Always gotta be a few

I have to admit, I do tend to encourage him at times. Life needs it's comic relief!

At least it was annuals that died & not a prized Meconopsis...
Oh yes, I've heard an expert give advice on how to "properly" deal with a variety of lawn/soil issues & go into a full-blown "how-dare-you-not-agree-with-me" pout when it is pointed out that the closest to the soil they get is when walking by container plantings.
Amazing.
Apparently one can learn much about their own property by keeping their butt planted in front of the TV/Computer in absolute avoidance of contact with the great outdoors...

We had almost a week of rain and since my pile was starting to feel a bit on the dry side I left it uncovered. Well, today it is sunny and the pile had settled down to only about 24" and the heat was down to about 85 degrees f. and needed air since I had not turned it for a couple of weeks.

I dug the center section out and piled it on each end and then forked the two end sections into the vacant center to create a single pile that is about 50" tall and 8 ft. wide. Hopefully that will heat it up again and keep things perking in there.

The pile was plenty wet but not dripping and I think it will reheat now that I have replenished the air supply... and you can be sure I'll be out there the next few days with the thermometer checking on it ;~)

i enjoyed reading about and seeing all your neat compost bins--i have a pile but it works pretty good--it is a big pile! i think it might be getting too big and wonder if such a thing is possible?--zanymuse i like how yours is spread out rather than tall like mine is --seems it would be easier to turn too--i am not handy at all but just might give it a try and make one that is longer and narrower---i notice you do not have a second bin--i don't either but i can see where that might be a good idea too

Mine is long and narrow out of necessity. The "bin" is actually my future raised bed. But being a weakling and pretty lazy, it is working for me. I can turn it in on itself now and next time I'll fork it to one end so that it maintains it's needed size and air supply.

I forgot to do the wiggle dance though. When I heaped the cool ends into the center I encountered some of the longest and fattest earth worms I have ever seen!

zanymuse, that is looking real GOOD!

Goood enuff to .... play in!

The redwood needles are finally saturated enough to hold moisture so they should begin to break down soon...I hope! Everything else, coffee , tea, eggshells, 25 lbs. of stale granola cereal with nuts and raisens, paper towels, and so on are either unrecognizeable or close to it already.

I sure hope those giant worms procreate alot to finish this pile off for me. The ones I saw seemed happy to be there anyway so now I decided to turn the top 3/4 of the pile and leave the bottom 1/4 alone for the worms.

I should be getting another load of grass clippings sometime this week and that always heats things up again really fast when I layer it in and should speed up the needles decay time considerably.

Lots of beetles and bugs on the cooler edges and the birds are feasting on themeverytime I look out. I guess they recognize a free meal when they see it.

Dang, Zany, I'm movin' to Cali! I want dirt, worms, raking....

Sure Carol, come on down if ya think you can handle the heat. 39 f. degrees outside at 10:00 pm and may hit 32 by morning. Day temps from 50-68. Downright tropical compared to Seward! This would be a great week to make the move since we aren't expecting rain again until friday. So pack your frillies and bikini wax and come on down!

Zany, I'm so hot laying on the floor laughing and coughing and giggling from the thought of me in frillies and waxed! Whew, I'm over it now, but what a visual... Boy Howdy!
So, what are you? up in the mountains? You must be under your electric blanket.
Oh, you ARE talking Farenheit. Right? Sounds tropical to me, but really, what?
Carol

Yep, Fahrenheit. I am on the coast of California about 350 miles north of San Francisco the green X is over my area.

Zany, I drove down the 101 isn't it? Right on the coast. What an absolutely beautiful drive! I remember deep fog in oregon that you couldn't see through and then that coastal view! I'll never forget it. Back in '72. You must have a real black cloud over you guys. I haven't seen the weather patterns for a few days. And like any tourist (I was actually hitchhiking, sounds crazy to say that now days) I was awed by the redwoods. It was so pretty with gossemers (10 - 20 foot long drifts of spider webs)(they looked like that stuff you put on xmas trees for decoration) floating against the bluest sky with butterflys mating in the air among the redwoods. However, it was the year of drought and the grapes were raisins on the vine and I had to abandon my original destination of Mexico and turn East at Ben Lomond (around San Louis Abispo sp?) and ended up in Denver for the winter. It was late September when I went down the coast of Cali.
Carol

Where did you get 25lbs of stale ceral, Zany?

Carol, if you took the 101 down as far as Ben Lomond in the Santa Cruz Mountains you went right through Eureka and Fortuna ;~) The Redwoods are indeed beautiful and the transitions along the coast from forest to open views of the Pacific are startlingly and breathtakingly amazing.

We are currently in a clear spell. Any storms clouds are probably to the north of us in Oregon and Washington tight now. But we expect them back toward the end of the week.

Dean, a friend of ours has 14 kids and shops for everything in bulk. The Granola was some off brand that no one would eat because it had a funny taste to it so it sat in a bin for several months. She asked me if I could think of anything to do with it beside throwing it in the garbage and I volunteered my compost pile ;~)