Composting its just a pile

Well step one collect the Horse Shit Poop, veggies scrapes from the kitchen daily, we use shredded paper from the house, cover ,water , turn over weekly and cook for a month or so ....

Pa had to move an apricot tree no fruit for three years ya think the big giant pine tree might have something to do with it. It is now moves to the sun ....I hope it makes the move ....

This dog is my older one Angel she makes all my raised bed her temporary beds. I think because the dirt is warm fresh. This is where my peppers are going. I made two beds.

In the end we get a great pile of sweet dirt to put anywhere we want. Sometimes I leave it there to prep the plot for a raised garden. 

Here is dog #2 she is the hunter always o the look out for a little something to run after. 

                                             Here are some tips:

1. Gather all grass clippings and green yard waste but be sure to mix with the "brown" materials like leaves and shredded paper to add carbon. You will need both, but if you only add grass clippings your pile will compact and start to stink.
2. Do not compost meats or pet droppings. Stick with food scraps and yard waste only.
3. NO NO NO  pesticides and/or herbicide treated material.
4. NO NO NO weeds to your pile but if you have to then make sure your pile is good and hot. It should be steaming hot, not just warm otherwise it may not kill the seeds.
5. Turn your pile as often as you can. Each time you turn it will speed up the process.
6. Keep your compost damp but not wet. As you add material to your pile make sure that each layer is moist as it is added. During the summer your pile will dry out and the composting process will slow down.
7. Got too much material to compost? Make a second or third pile. That is what I do and it makes so I have great dirt all year...Stop adding material to a pile that is underway and start a new pile. This will insure you get a chance to use the compost this season.
8. Add compost to your garden a few weeks before you plant. Let the compost have a chance to work into the soil. Try to mix it in and let it sit before you plant. Sometimes I just dump a pile of fresh compost and let it sit for a week or two then turn it in.
9. Bugs, worms and most bugs are GOOD. No need to go crazy trying to keep bugs out of your compost.

Here is a good source for information on composting  Composting with Mr.Grow

Red Worm Composting Part Two

See my worms look closely it is in the middle kind of curly. I bought 1000 of them. They love their new home.

This really is an on going project. I hope to make a better more modern home when it gets closer to Fall and the weather cools.

I made their home with old pallet's we used to hold hay off the ground in the barn. They are a little rickety but the worms do not mind. I had Pa cut the pallets in half and I put them side by side.

This is not a beauty contest it is a home for wayward worms. I used horse manure layered with cardboard egg containers and shredded paper. Other layers were from my kitchen scrapes layer by layer I got the home ready.




Once I had enough material layered in it I made sure to soak it for a few weeks so the layers would kind of meld together for the worms to find there way into.  And moisture is key to keeping the worms happy and alive.

Once I was done and the Red Worms arrived from their old home. I got them all settled and covered them.

The wood is really light and did not compress the soil at all. I kept it covered so the Raccoons did not find it and think it was a supper gift.







Here is a little Worm 911  

  "Each worm ingests its weight in organic matter every 24 hours its intricate digestive tract makes it possible for the Red Worms to excrete highly nutritious fertilizer known as castings. These Castings are the best plant food known to man, and contain a high concentration of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, magnesium and calcium. Castings do not heat or burn plant life. The
action of Red Worms in composting piles will speed up the reduction of organic matter in one half the time."

Red Worm Composting Part One

I got my Worms. Yup we are starting a Worm Hotel. I am hoping to get it started up in the top half of the garden.

Alright I have had them for three weeks! I have been adding a scoop of them when I have been transplanting the roses up on to the hill. Another Story!








I have been searching the internet to get a bit more information on keeping them in a compost pile. Most of the sites have them in big plastic bin's. This Website Red Worm Composting is the best I have found on the subject.


I started out after buying the worms by putting them into a small compost pile that was just about ready to become soil.

 I added layers of shredded paper one week than the next week followed by some grass clipping and kitchen waste.

Cardboard Egg Cartons

This cardboard egg cartons I added

Here is a little Worm 911

  "Each worm ingests its weight in organic matter every 24 hours its intricate digestive tract makes it possible for the Red Worms to excrete highly nutritious fertilizer known as castings. These Castings are the best plant food known to man, and contain a high concentration of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, magnesium and calcium. Castings do not heat or burn plant life. The action of Red Worms in composting piles will speed up the reduction of organic matter in one half the time."