Crappy Compost

Compost is the process of breaking down organic material.  "Any factor which slows or halts microbial growth will also impede the composting process. Efficient decomposition will occur, if the following factors are used to fullest advantage." UNL Master Gardener
~Aeration
~Moisture
~Particle size
~Temperature
~Fertilizer
The microbes that eat the compost and break it down into usable soil to amend our gardens need nitrogen for their own growth.  They speed up or slow down based on the available nitrogen.  Grass clippings are higher in nitrogen and leaves have much less.  Manure can be added as "organic sources of nitrogen" and will help compost...decompose!

So grab some manure and stir it into your compost to make it more efficient!

Recommended layers:
1.  4-6 inches of brush and coarse material for air circulation.
2.  3-4 inches of grass clippings or hay.
3.  3-4 inches of leaves, straw or corn.
4.  1 inch of soil
5.  2-3 inches of animal manure
Make sure layer 2 and 3 are damp when adding them.

Materials with High Nitrogen Values (GREENS) (Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station, Bulletin 754, 1974.)  Highest to Lowest

Horse Manure with Litter
Horse Manure
Grass Clippings
Vegetable Wastes
Coffee Grounds
Cow Manure
Poultry Manure with Litter
Poultry Manure
Pig Manure

Score!!!!!!! Creatively Building Soil!

Sitting in the football bleachers with friends is a grand way to score some extra bags of leaves for compost!  Granted my husband will not go with me to load them...but I'm sure he will unload them for me!

And, I'm not beneath gathering leaves and pine cones in the gutter.  With the ongoing lack of moisture and my desire to create more permaculture or "smart" scaping beds in my yard.  I will need lots more organic material for compost.

In the name of building great soil, I have some ideas for gathering extra composting material:

• Gather leaves from yards that are familiar to us.
• Ask friends for their neatly bagged composting material.
• Offer your local horse fanatics to clean out their barn for the wealth of manure and straw/hay. 
• Be intentional about saving scraps and coffee grounds.  I'm so surprised at the amount of scraps build up in one house.

• Gather shredded paper from work to haul home.

After gathering the great composting matter, intentionally use it!

•  I dig trenches along the back of my fence and behind a raised bed to throw material in.
• Build a homemade compost bin such as the dog kennel turned sideways that works great.
• Create bins to throw newspaper and food scraps to keep them from blowing away and to keep animals out.  Old cow lick tubs are great!

My Dream

MY DREAM!!!

Images from the web as I research Xeriscape.

 

Common Name

Deciduous Trees

Cockspur Hawthorn

Japanese Pagodatree

Evergreen Trees

Austrian Pine

Bristlecone Pine

Pinyon Pine

Deciduous Shrubs

American Plum

Blue Mist Spirea

Boulder Raspberry

Big Tooth Maple

Gro-Low Sumac

Leadplant

New Mexican Privet

Rabbitbrush

Russian Sage

Serviceberry

Snowberry

Squaw Currant

Three Leaf Sumac

Waxflower

Woods Rose

Western Sandcherry

Evergreen Shrubs

Green Mound Juniper

Perennials

Columbine

Blanketflower

Fireweed

Yellow Flax

Gayfeather

Lavender-Munstead

Moonbeam Coreopsis

Purple Coneflower

Pineleaf Penstemon

Red Rocks Penstemon

Rocky Mt. Penstemon

Yarrow

Ground Covers

Barran Strawberry

Creeping Western Sandcherry

Mahonia

Sedum

Sweet Woodruff

Wintercreeper

Ornamental Grasses

Bug Bluestem

Feather Reed Grass

Indian Ricegrass

Winter Comfort

Standing at my back door with a cup of coffee was just a little different this morning.  The robins singing and eating worms were replaced with snow flurries!  Hoping my little feathered friends are on the fly to warmer weather.  I have to say that I will be waiting eagerly for them to return.

My large bed had thankfully been "tucked in" for the winter.  The final vines pulled and left to provide the framework for new life this spring.  This year I spent quite some time turning the soil deeply folding in the rotting fruit, vegetable matter and decomposing vines.  In addition, I soaked it well.  My hope is that the water will be stored within the composting material.  The final layer of horse manure and leaves will be going on tomorrow as I ran out of time!

The bareness of the yard is giving birth to new dreams, designs and ideas.  Instead of digging around in the dirt, I am drawing out dreams in my journal.

How do I incorporate more permaculture?

Is it possible to build the beds with just horse manure through the winter?

Where can I scavenge up some old gutters and hoses for water saving measures?

How can I plant more climbing peas, beans and vegetables within the flower beds?

This led to an initial dream list of vegetable seeds saved on my computer.

Carrots galore jumped on the list.  I will be making seed tape this winter during quiet evenings to keep my hands busy.

The tomatoes will be moved to the small bed.  Peppers will go to the tomato bed.  Hmmm....I smell spring!

Walking to the door tonight gives me a chill and a comfort.  It is a homey feeling to know that beneath the layer of soil and composting material the microbes and worms are busy and the roots are resting.  All taking a well deserved winter rest.