work outside

Turned my compost pile. Thought a post was missing that holds up the perimeter of the bin container- but it was actually broken a third from the top, and bent down inside the edge. Don't know how that happened. This was my process, same as last time but I don't recall if I wrote it down: pull off the perimeter and move to the new spot. Lay small sticks or dry stems (usually from monarda, echinacea or pye weed trimming) in the bottom of the new bin space. Pull and shovel all material out of the other, smaller metal bin under the deck (where fresh kitchen waste goes- it has a sealed lid). Dump that into the wheelbarrow, ferry to the new bin spot, shovel into the base. Take all the unfinished stuff off the top of the old compost pile, put into the new bin spot. Sifting out sticks along the way, which get carried back over to the metal bin, to be the new base of that one. When I finally get down to mostly unrecognizable stuff, mostly blackened, with just a few leaf bits solid in the bottom of the old pile, it's ready to go into the garden. 

It wasn't as much this year- or just got compressed down- I can't remember if I dug this out in spring- maybe that's why . . .

I'm pretty satisfied with my process now, though it confounds my husband when he helps me with it (last year, when I had no energy). Basically, I use the smaller metal bin for fresh kitchen waste, any food material- because animals can't get in there. The big bin in the rear of the yard, gets leaves and yard waste only. Until it's time to turn the pile, then the metal bin contents get shifted to be the bottom of the new pile where it gets buried very deep and keeps breaking down until it's time to turn the pile all over again. I think this helps keep pests out of my pile- there's still a hole in the side of the plastic bin perimeter where something chewed to get in once . . . especially in the winter.

I only shoveled out a fifth of the compost so far, into the wheelbarrow and left up by the garden overnight. Too tired to continue, plus I saw a wren poking around in the metal bin's base of stems (before I shut the lid) and thought I'll leave the exposed garden soil for a day, let the birds pick through that perhaps. I'd scraped up all the mulch off the garden beds, pulled some dead plants and weeds. Left the dill (looking lovely!) one swiss chard and one collards plant, one big borage that regrew in fall, and a half dozen white nicotiana (self-seeded). 

Tomorrow I will spread the compost on all the beds, then some grass clippings/leaf mulch back over it, and maybe dig more rocks into the base of the bed edges again. Lots more work to do with that.

I found that one of my pathetic kidney bean plants, actually made beans in the pod. But they're not red. I picked it too soon, should have let stay on the plant to dry out.

There's lots of maple and oak leaves to start raking up. I was concerned that I'll forget where my new young plants are back there on the slope- the elephant's foot, st. john's wort and sumac. But I found the first two stand up just tall enough above the litter I can see them well (if I remember to pay attention) and the little sumac has flame-red leaves now since the first frost:

So it really stands out.