A Green Fire

Composting is big these days.  Or well, it seems so to me because I do it and I read a lot of blogs from other ‘greenies” who are doing it.

Anyway, there are loads of ways to compost.  There are many composting bins you can purchase, or if you are handy, make yourself.  These work by completely enclosing the organic material you wish to turn into rich dirt. Some, are tumblers that you, well, tumble to mix the decomposing matter.

Others are upright systems.  These you put fresh grass or vegetable food waste or scraps into the top and as the layers break down, they move down the system and at the bottom, you end up with rich, dark compost.

There is another way, which is the way I do it.  I built a frame from leftover ‘dog pen wire’ (that’s my technical term for it). It stands in a mostly circular manner, upright behind the storage shed at my house.  I just dump all my vegetable, fruit, grass clippings, and leftover pine straw onto the pile.  I turn it when I think about it.  It is heated by the sun and watered by the rain.  Currently, it is aerated by ants, not fire ants, instead I have little harmless black ants. This method is not going to give me great compost in a matter of weeks.  However, it will eventually, which is good enough for me.

The best part of my compost is how little I send to the landfill.  Since I burn all my paper garbage, and now I compost all my green kitchen garbage, there is very little I send to the landfill.  In fact, I usually only take my can out to the road for pick up every other week.

What’s your favorite part of composting?

I woke up early Sunday and took full advantage of the pretty sunshine and cool temps.  I found an electric weed-eater in my shed and it still worked.  I also found two long extension cords and weed-eater string, so I was all set.  I “ate” the grass all around my trailer, the parking area, and the shed.

After that, I planned to mow, but the battery on the mower died. Oh well.

Instead, I framed out a raised bed.  I have these old concrete blocks that are left over from when my grandparents built their barn decades ago. They are not  what you normally think of when you think of a concrete block.  They are pale in color and smooth and shaped somewhat differently.  I had plenty of black plastic left over from when I had a decorative fish pond.  So, I put that down as a weed blocker. This week, or weekend, I will get dirt and plants!

I scouted out a new site in the side yard where I will be getting pine straw to mulch my plants after I plant them.

I made a compost bin too.  That was super easy.  I had dog wire left over from when I (with much help) built a dog pen.  So, I just made a big circle, wired it together and set it where I want the compost to be.

I know I will plant one tomato plant, and some herbs, but not sure what else.  If it was your personal garden, what veggie would you plant?

I am very lucky to live “in the country” although my whole state is pretty rural so that is a relative term.  My house is not visible from the road, in fact, my driveway looks like it goes back to an old hay field instead of a residence.

I like that, I like it a lot.

So, because I am so secluded and have no fear of offending neighbors, I have a burn pit in my back yard.  Here is where I burn all my paper trash, thus keeping it out of the landfill.  All my food boxes, junk mail, old magazines, catalogs; I burn.  I burn about every other month, unless it is too wet, or in the summer, too dry.

I also have a compost pile in my back yard.  I use the slowest method of compost, which is throw it on, let nature do the work.  I put all my fruit and vegatable kitchen scraps here. I eat very little meat, so I have almost no meat waste.  However, if I do have a cow or pig bone, I give that to my dog.  I do not feed him chicken bones. Almost no paper goes into my compost, because I burn it.  I feel good that over time, I get fresh soil for my flowers or vegatables and I am taking two big items out of the landfill.