Grand opening is a thing of beauty

Yesterday I unveiled a masterpiece -- my compost bin.

After 12 months of carrying coffee grounds, kitchen refuse, dead leaves and grass clippings a couple of hundred yards down the hill, I pulled the front planks from the bin to reveal all the putrid glory.

I estimate I filled the bin to overflowing at least 10 times during the year. As you can see, the contents continued to settle resulting in a rich and heavy compost that had to be the envy of every worm's eye.

Transferring the weighty compost to the garden was a physical and well as an olfactory challenge. I left a little in the bottom of the well to jump-start next year's batch.

With apologies to Joyce Kilmer, I offer this poem:

I think no one can ever match
A pile as rancid as my batch.
Perfumes may smell good on you
But only I can make a PUUUUUUUUU!

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!