Composting done Right

When it comes to compost there is one thing that you have to put into it that you can't purchase from the garden store and it is called patience. With out it you just wont get the desired effects your looking for. Two years ago I decided to make my own compost and I have a system that works for me. In the pic there are two bins. On the left are all the leaves I have collected from this fall along with grass clippings and veggies from the kitchen. On the right is what it will look like after one year of having worms, microbes and moisture work it. That deep black crumbly chocolate cake look is the desired effect. In a few days when it stops raining I will take all of my black gold "not oil" and lay it in my garden beds ready to prep for this growing season. What a growing season it will be. In theory I should be able to do better than I did last year. We shall see. Lately I have been plagued by squirrels eating my kale and and other greens. The Garden Wars have begun- Such is the life of a Urban Homesteader:(

Making a Chicken Coop

Alot of thought went into making this chicken coop for Esther and Ezelle. It was difficult to come up with a solid plan, because all of the materials we had were pulled apart from other projects, so my buddy and I just shot from the hip on this one.

One thing was for sure and that was the need to incorporate the basic needs for my wife and I which was easy access, ventilation, easy to clean, a place to roost, a place to lay eggs, an easy way to collect eggs and a way to throw green material on the bottom of the coop and collect it for compost. I know it sounds like alot but with this plan our coop suddenly materialized in a few hours and it was literally a one day project. Hopefully our girls will appreciate the work we have done for them. They now have a place to roost and lay eggs off the ground and my wife can easily go in and collect eggs from the side with out going into the coop. My favorite design feature of the coop is being able to pull my wheel barrel up with heaps of material from the compost and scatter it along the floor. When I put the girls in thier new home they made quick work of the working green material. They were literally on cloud nine doing their synchronized scratching dance. I can watch these guys scratch all day like I can watch a fire. It's mesmerizing watching them work and it's amazing that these girls have some personality. More pics of the girls latter on this week.

Growing Edamame

The new foliage from my edamame plants have made a full recovery from the hail storm a few weeks back. I was really concerned with the way they looked and if it wasn't for the knowledgeable people who follow this blog and giving me great advice I would have turned these guys into compost. But instead I held tight and gave the plants a chance to regroup and regroup they did.

The edamame plants are cold sensitive and we gambled putting them in the ground early. I honestly think the raised beds have proven themselves in every situation. Because without the raised beds, I would not be able to keep my soil warm in the coldest weather. Prior to planting the seeds we lasagna layered our compost in the beds and finished it off with some good soil on top. It was to no surprise that underneath the soil the microbes went to work composting and keeping the interior warm while the outside temp dipped below 30 degrees on some days. But yet the edamame survived and are en route to produce a bountiful harvest that will go great with my beer.

Update on the Worm party

This morning as I passed by the compost bin I saw worms hanging out on the top of the compost exposed!! I was like WTF. Instantly I thought about the chicken guano I put in yesterday evening and just shook my head. Apparently I didn't bring the tequila and instead I brought the Jim Jones Juice.

So I picked up a worm and it was literally mushy almost to the point of melting. I thought, 'Oh gross, worm squish all in my hand." So I threw the worm back in and I dug around the compost with my hand, I couldn't believe how friggin hot my compost was. It was literally smoking when I turned it around and exposed some of it to air. I felt the heat coming out of that thing and I was happy to see how this guano works.

Unfortunately the worms that were caught in the inferno perished; the other worms retreated and either went to the perimeter of the pile or retreated to the new working pile without any Chicken Guano. I added some fresh lawn clippings to my new pile that I am preparing now for 2010. Now the project is to move the compost pile to where the chickens are so they can romp around fresh compost material and then I can later transfer it to my pile ready to use.

Chicken Guano PeeeeeeYeeeewww!!!

Today I decided to transfer Ezelle and Ester into their new home. Their former home had a dirt substrate and I layed hay in their so that they can do their business and eventually I can use their guano in the garden. Well today friends was the day and ohhhh the earth could have not smelled any better because there $#!%! Stinks. I figured I was doing good with the smell because we never smelled them. The guano (poo) had neutralized and broke down all the shavings in the cage. It was an excellent system that worked in a very short period of time.

I had to hurry up and work fast with this stuff because my wife was dry heaving all over the place. I admit it was bad but this is from a guy who likes the smell of skunk and ate a whole Dorian fruit without breaking a sweat. The guano was intense and I threw all of it into my working pile of compost and turned the compost over onto it. I hope my worms enjoy it. I will soon tell. Because when I turned the Compost over they were literally having an orgy in that place. I hope I brought the tequila for the party instead of the koolaid. Time will tell and in a few days I will see how the guys are doing. But for now Ezelle and Ester are happy in their home. I will modify there pen later on this year so that they have an outdoor run and hopefully I can sneak a Nigerian dwarf goat into the yard without my wife knowing;)

Is my Compost working?

So today I went to the compost pile and I dug in the center of it and I felt it; Amazingly my compost had a lot of heat in there. The outside temp was approx 55 degrees, but the center of the pile felt more like 80-90 degrees. It has only been a day or two since I jerry rigged my compost pile together and its starting to work.

From all of the research that i have done, Im starting to understand that there are microbes and bacteria in the pile that are breaking the pile down and all this work is generating heat. Im looking forward to seeing how well it breaks down and I can't wait to see how much nutrients it gives to my garden.

Urban Compost bin

My compost is looking like a class A station. I cut some grass today and placed it in the pile. Im new at this stuff, but im willing to learn to see whats going on. I pulled most of the pile to the edge to create a pocket so that I can place old vegetables and dry grass. I didn't see any more worms. I think they beat feet or headed to the bottom of the pile to work there way back up to the top. I hope I didn't kill my worms.

How to Compost the Urban way

Today I went to the back shed and I was curious to see how my make shift compost pile was doing. I placed grass clippings, leaves and acorns on the side of the shed between the fence and I noticed that the middle of the pile was actually turning into dirt. There were a gazillion worms in there turning that stuff around and I was amazed. The spot where the compost was situated was in a spot that was not easily accessible. So I recycled my neighbors old metal shed by forming a box on raw dirt. I took all of the leaves and the working pile of compost into it. Sincew Im new at this I should have read how to start this thing first. I shouldnt have put a dead mouse in there and I shouldn't have put water in there. Hopefully I don't kill my worms. I placed a plastic tarp on the top to increase the humidity so it can work faster. From all of the research that I have done, I am beggining to understand the importance of worms. I really need my worms to survive. If this works my compost is going to be great for my garden needs. More to follow

My Urban Garden

Currently I live within city limits. With all of the issues going on with the economy today I feel the need to be more self-sufficient. Its nearing the end of Oct and I presently I am in Georgia. The weather is much cooler and I have started to plant leafy green Vegetables; Collards, Broccolli, Cabbage, Bunch Onions, Pak Choy, and Snow Peas. Coming soon I will add lettuce and Kale. Im looking forward to having a nice harvest before the real cold weather settles in. More to follow........