My Four Compost Bins

This year I have built several raised beds and also grew potatoes in 5-gallon plastic buckets. In the process I realized that not only you need lots of dirt, but you also need organically rich dirt. Right away I knew I needed to create a one-dimensional array of compost piles. I figured I needed at least three of them. 

We have a nice house built on about a 1/4 of an acre in Orange County, NY. We had a beautiful 100 year-old pin oak tree in the backyard that we had to cut it down because during a storm the root system was compromised and we were forced to cut it. A separate post will follow on that. We also have two dogwood trees, white and pink. We do have some leaves that we get every fall from each dogwood, but that's not enough for my raised beds. Unfortunately, nowadays the lawn mowers cut the grass very finely and that mulches the grass. Well, that doesn't help me with my predicament, the need for organic matter. 

We decided to build the compost piles at the end of the property that is NE. Composts require organic matter, and air. You can dump leaves and do nothing to them, just leave them there and a year later you will have beautiful dirt waiting for you. Of course you can add eggshells, vegetable clippings and coffee grounds, tea bags and maybe even mix it up a little and you will have even better results. 

Where do you get coffee grounds and tea bags? Really? Do I have to write about this? This is what I do. On the kitchen counter I have a plastic container (from takeout) and I add things that can be mulched. Then, the next morning I add them to the mulch pile. About every three weeks I turn the mulch using a pitch fork. If we have coffee, I add the used coffee grounds in the container. BUT, it really helps if you develop a relationship with a local coffee house, luncheonette in your neighborhood. In our village we have a bagel shop where I drop off a large aluminum pan and two plastic bags and a few days later I go and I pick up several pounds of used coffee grounds. Of course, remember that tipping is necessary and totally appropriate. 

We have a fence (mostly for the deer) and in the from of the fence we have planted several forsythia bushes and the compost areas would go in between the fence and the forsythias. 

You can get free pallets in many places. Make sure you ask for permission because chain stores recycle them and they are not us to take. For example, at Scott's Corners Hardware on Rt. 17K they have a specific area where they leave their pallets. There have lots of pallets behind the fences, but don't take those. 

Here are the first two bins that I made. I haven't yet, but I should staple a wire mesh to better contain the mulch inside the pallets. Next year, though, next year. 

Working hard in the outdoors requires you to constantly hydrate your body and I like hard cider. Of course, Angry Orchards is in Walden and I had to support them. I did it for their sake and had NOTHING to do with me. Okay? I like cider. I drink cider. I still drink cider. This is my Brett Kavanaugh impersonation. 

Of course it helps when you also add such organic matter as hay or straw, but don't confuse the two. I take advantage of Craig's List and I look for mulching hay and/or straw. I usually pay $2 per large bale. I deal with a nice farmer who is in Gardiner, NY. 

I created a small area for processing these pallets. They are very tough to deal with. The have these weird nails that are twisted and are very tough to remove, but, they are free.

Here is a nice picture of the three piles that I've created so far this year. You can see the green watering can that I use to keep the piles hydrated. Oh yeah, you need to add sufficient moisture to your mulch for it to decompose faster.

The blue tarp protects two very large logs from the pin oak tree that we saved. We would like to make two or three tables from them?

Here are the two logs that we saved from our tree. I placed bricks under them so they will not be sitting on wet ground. It was a herculean task, but since I am Greek it was easy for me to get it done.

On the right side I created three mulch piles, then I decided to create an area for the hay/straw, but then I added a fourth mulch to the left of the straw. Ach!

Here is a close up of the right three mulch piles.

Perhaps I should mention that I am always on the lookout for leaves, wood chips and other organic matter. In my little Toyota I always have two rakes, two 5-gallon buckets and a pair of gloves.

I am in the process of building a simple cover for these piles because when it rains they get drenched and that's too much water for them to handle. The mulch needs to be "a little" hydrated and be drenched. Also, in NY we get lots of snow in the winter and that would really stop the mulches form decomposing.

Another post will be here soon with the coverings.

Happy mulching!