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.
