Sifting for gold (the black kind)

[formariz 11,987]

Been harvesting my compost pile. Every year I make lots of this great stuff. Harvest worms at the same time to feed koi in pond.

 

[stevasaurus 22,708]

They look like Night Crawlers...seen them on the Victory Garden in the 70's on PBS.     You have some handsome worms there Cas.    You just can't beat good healthy dirt.

[953 nut 55,075]

6 hours ago, formariz said:

harvesting my compost pile. Every year I make lots of this great stuff. Harvest worms at the same time to feed koi in pond

My compost works for three years prior to putting it in the garden. I always put the worms in the newer compost pile an tell them to get to work!

[formariz 11,987]

1 hour ago, 953 nut said:

My compost works for three years prior to putting it in the garden. I always put the worms in the newer compost pile an tell them to get to work!

Yes that is about what it takes. I have an enormous one in sort of different sections, so there is always some ready every year. Its basically just from lawn clippings, shredded leaves, planer shavings and wood dust, and general property stuff from pruning, cleaning ,etc. I turn it over as frequently as I can to speed it up.

[posifour11 723]

I just started a new compost setup at the new house last fall, so I've got a ways to go. It's mostly leaves, kitchen scraps and garden waste. I can't wait to get a shed for rabbits and a chicken house built. 

 

I hope the guy that bought my old place makes use of it. But, he seemed like a city guy wanting to be a gentleman farmer. 

[formariz 11,987]

It is a very satisfying thing to do for me. Most people around here go nuts with hundreds of bags in the fall for the leaves and throw away most property maintenance residue in the garbage. Then they go to Home Depot in spring to buy top soil for planting. They also join a gym for exercise. Extra work and extra money spent when all the ingredients are here. I make so much of it, that when my wife worked as a school teacher, they had a substantially sized vegetable garden for the kids , I used to take pickup loads of it every year.

[AMC RULES 37,127]

Funny ain't it...what some people do? It's like they're throwing away free real estate. Been leveling my back yard, a little more every year, using just the composted material left over from our annual property maintenance. Asked the neighbor across the street if I could take his leaves last fall...guy looked at me like was nuts.    

[formariz 11,987]

2 hours ago, AMC RULES said:

Funny ain't it...what some people do? It's like they're throwing away free real estate. Been leveling my back yard, a little more every year, using just the composted material left over from our annual property maintenance. Asked the neighbor across the street if I could take his leaves last fall...guy looked at me like was nuts.    

I also use lots of leaves. Need to have also a lot of green stuff like lawn clippings for them otherwise it takes for ever for the leaves to decompose.

[AMC RULES 37,127]

The formula that works best for me is 50/50 mix of the green & brown compost componets...keep it wet throught the hot summer months, and it'll be ready for use within the year.

[953 nut 55,075]

I use a 42" rear discharge mower to grind the leaves and a 42" sweeper to collect them. With all the trees we have the pile of leaves is about five feet wide, two feet high and twenty five feet long. Shredded paper, wood planer chips, grass clippings and kitchen scraps are added all year.

Late summer I take four pallets and tie-wire them into a square. The partly composted material is piled high and that is it for a couple of years. The 250 cubic feet of material will compost down to 40 cubic feet at the end of the third year.

[formariz 11,987]

47 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

Late summer I take four pallets and tie-wire them into a square.

That is a good idea since it provides oxygen around pile.I used to do that but eventually the pile kept growing and I just needed unlimited space. That system keeps everything looking neat also .