Compost
Acid mulch and compost
27 January 2008 20:12 Filed in: Doing
The acid bed (blueberries, Japanese iris and rhubarb)
is causing a lot of thought at the moment. The plants
not only want acid soil, but also want lots of
moisture; so I need acid mulch. Coffee grounds would
be perfect, but my easy supply is no longer easy, so
I'm searching for other options.
A week or two ago someone posted on the local freecycle with coffee husks looking for a good home, which sounded perfect except... (Why is there always an "except"? :) ... coffee husks are way to light to mulch with. I tried to work out how to make it work, but I've given up and they're going straight through the compost and I need a new acid mulch plan.
The comic relief of the coffee husk compost has been totally worth it. They're incredibly bulky and light, so I carried a huge black rubbish bag over my shoulder on the bus and through town. They overflowed the compost bin until thoroughly soaked, and looked like fibreglass once wet. They will hopefully fill the gap in my composting once I leave my current job and the leftover fruit bits that come along with it.
In other news two of my chooks have big butts, another sign that they'll be laying soon. All very exciting.
A week or two ago someone posted on the local freecycle with coffee husks looking for a good home, which sounded perfect except... (Why is there always an "except"? :) ... coffee husks are way to light to mulch with. I tried to work out how to make it work, but I've given up and they're going straight through the compost and I need a new acid mulch plan.
The comic relief of the coffee husk compost has been totally worth it. They're incredibly bulky and light, so I carried a huge black rubbish bag over my shoulder on the bus and through town. They overflowed the compost bin until thoroughly soaked, and looked like fibreglass once wet. They will hopefully fill the gap in my composting once I leave my current job and the leftover fruit bits that come along with it.
In other news two of my chooks have big butts, another sign that they'll be laying soon. All very exciting.
|
Lots of little things
20 January 2008 20:26 Filed in: Doing
There are baby fish in the pond and legs on the
tadpoles! It feels strangely springlike for
midsummer.
The big task for the weekend was reorganising the compost; using the last of one pile and turning the other. The compost got used on the main group of tomatoes, which have baby tomatoes showing; on the gooseberries, which did well this year and deserve encouragement; and on the lemon tree which produced a nice crop of lemons and needed a feed.
I took advantage of the compost around the tomatoes to express optimism by planting some vines at the feet of the tomatoes:
The same need to squeeze things in lead to me fitting some more lettuces in around the sweetcorn (which is still not thriving) and some more basil in amongst the rest.
Sadly I'll need to replant the fennel seeds from last week as the chooks took advantage of the compost rearrangement to get into the vege garden briefly and scratched up the baby plants. Otherwise not too much damage I think, surprising as they had access to silverbeet.
The big task for the weekend was reorganising the compost; using the last of one pile and turning the other. The compost got used on the main group of tomatoes, which have baby tomatoes showing; on the gooseberries, which did well this year and deserve encouragement; and on the lemon tree which produced a nice crop of lemons and needed a feed.
I took advantage of the compost around the tomatoes to express optimism by planting some vines at the feet of the tomatoes:
- Melon 'Tigger Moon'
- Buttercup squash
- Apple cucumber
The same need to squeeze things in lead to me fitting some more lettuces in around the sweetcorn (which is still not thriving) and some more basil in amongst the rest.
Sadly I'll need to replant the fennel seeds from last week as the chooks took advantage of the compost rearrangement to get into the vege garden briefly and scratched up the baby plants. Otherwise not too much damage I think, surprising as they had access to silverbeet.
The good compost
17 June 2007 21:14 Filed in: Construction
There's not been much progress this week; between B
being sick and some sequencing issues nothing much
has actually got finished.
The compost bins did get their interior paint job, so they're finished and I moved the compost from the old bin to the new.
Now that the old compost bin has been removed the slope can be graded, the chicken mesh can go up and then the trellis. That will allow me to plant the raspberry and boysenberry beds as well as hopefully the chicken run.
Another small step was the finishing of the pergolas (and the repositioning of the Chinese gooseberries) and the framing for the bridge and board walk.
Now that the framing is done the liner can go in, then the bog garden, pump and waterfall, then the planks on the bridge and boardwalk.
So hopefully this week will see lots of completion!
The compost bins did get their interior paint job, so they're finished and I moved the compost from the old bin to the new.
Now that the old compost bin has been removed the slope can be graded, the chicken mesh can go up and then the trellis. That will allow me to plant the raspberry and boysenberry beds as well as hopefully the chicken run.
Another small step was the finishing of the pergolas (and the repositioning of the Chinese gooseberries) and the framing for the bridge and board walk.
Now that the framing is done the liner can go in, then the bog garden, pump and waterfall, then the planks on the bridge and boardwalk.
So hopefully this week will see lots of completion!