composting

Yesterday was sunnier but still cool with a breeze. I couldn't stand to be inside, so went out and finished digging up and moving my compost pile. The leaves in soggy mats- I really have to figure out how to shred them this year. I don't have a chipper, and don't really want one, nor does my lawnmower have a bag to collect clippings (I like to leave some on the lawn). I suppose I could still run the lawnmower over dry leaves and then rake up the shreds, but that sounds tedious....

Anyway, down at the bottom of the pile I found a good three or four inches of nice dark stuff. Had to pick the sticks out, where I'd tried to make a layer to help it drain. Doesn't help when you put it in the swampiest area of the yard, though. Now I have three five-gallon buckets of compost ready for the garden sitting in the shed (still a bit too mucky to be turning soil over) and the pile is moved to a drier spot, fluffed up to the top of the bin again. It always pleases me something silly to discover at the bottom of all that mess I've made dirt!

here's where it used to be

Now I should plant something in that muddy spot, where surely it's swimming with nice rich yucky things plants like.