A compote of compost

One of the projects at Deerfield of which I'm particularly proud is my compost bin. It's made out of concrete blocks and treated lumber. The blocks are dry fitted without any mortar in case I want to move the bin. The front is made of 1 X 6 treated lumber which slide out for access. The top is open to catch the rain.

I've been judiciously dumping leaves, yard clippings and food scraps into the bin for a full year. The 24 inches of compost you see is the result of probably 6 full bins. In other words, 288 inches of loose vegetation and scraps is composted to about 24 inches of thick humus in a year's time.

I cleaned out the bin this morning before the rains came, spreading the compost in the garden and then working it in the soil with the tiller on the tractor.

My only regret is that I should have made the bin wide enough for the scoop on my tractor. Hmmmmm. Another project!