Ready to compost

This is what D and I did on the fourth of July:

 

 

We built a compost bin. Per the usual course of things, I told D my idea, and he improved on it. I would expect this thing to last for years except for one thing: I used untreated wood. I didn't want to use treated wood because of the chemicals. Also, it remains to be seen whether or not I can actually make compost on this kind of scale, so I didn't want to pay for cedar.

If you're wondering what Lucy is doing, she is eating the dirt that came out of the holes I dug for the posts. It's better than her digging her own holes, because she puts them where I don't want holes.

Funny story about the compost bin. I told D I wanted it four feet square. As we were building it, I kept saying, "that thing is huge", and D just said, "it's made to order". When we took it to the backyard, I realized where the confusion came from. I thought my garden fence was four feet tall, so when I said four feet square, I thought it would be as tall as the garden fence. Turns out, the garden fence is only three feet tall.

 composter close-up

I covered the bottom with some small twigs and branches from our front yard. Today, I pulled out the pea plants and threw them in. Other than that, I haven't put much effort into it yet. When I'm ready to really get started, I'll add some compost out of the little bin I use for kitchen waste to hopefully help things get going. Come fall, I'll be so glad I don't have to bag my garden waste.