Yesterday nephew Mike dug out one of the two big wooden bins we have in the backyard here at Struan Farm for garden compost/mulch. John and I have robust discussions about what can and cannot go into the bins (he'd dump all sorts of seeding weeds without my intervention), also the mix of green, brown, and food matter. Some wood ash from the fire, an occasional dump of lime, and blood and bone also get tipped in to amp it up.
We put food waste and some green and brown waste into several black plastic bins to rot down first, before combining it into the large wooden bins. We like to think this reduces the number of rodents prowling around, but perhaps we're fooling ourselves. The bins get forked up and shovelled at least once each season so that the layers on top get put on the bottom to rot down thoroughly. If you've got limited space, those black bins cook compost really well. They're just not large enough for our purposes.
The good news is that this year's compost looks fantastic. Mike shovelled in into the veggie troughs and onto some of the beds nearby as well. I'll then turn it over, I've already put sheep pellets, lime and blood and bone in these areas to supplement the soil ahead of planting.
The adjacent second bin is full and will be turned into the now empty bin to rot away for later use this season or next year. Finally, a system that works!
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