Steaming compost, part ll

Eleven days ago I posted this.

Today my pile of enriched compost is STEAMING!!! I can hardly believe it but it is.

My husband told me today that he thought it felt warm and I went out there to check it out and sure enough it's warm and steaming and composting well!! I am so excited!

He is also going next week to get another truck load of compost/manure for the garden extension.

I have already purchased some seeds to start for the new part of the garden.

I am doing carrots again, and two different types of lettuce. I also got cucumbers and about three or four herbs.

There are already just four tomato plants in there now that hubby put in the other day. We are waiting to do more til we are sure it won't get so cold at night.

Mmmmm, the thought of fresh, warm, just picked, homegrown tomatoes is just mouth watering to me!!!

Steaming.............

The picture above is a steaming pile of manure compost. It's not my picture though.

My pile of steaming compost is much darker.

Today my husband and little guy went to the local dirt place to pickup a pickup full of steaming manure compost to add to my not so steaming compost pile. And for the garden.

The nice part about living in a small town is that he got a whole truck bed full of this gold dirt for TWENTY dollars. I was shocked when he told me that.

Now maybe I will finally have a steaming compost pile. We have never added manure to it but I think that's the key ingredient to make it steam.

And it really really smells.

The accidental gardener.....

This is my compost pile. That I have been neglecting.

I usually have my husband throw the food into the compost pile and I haven't been back there in a while.

The other day my husband informed me that we have tomatoes growing in the compost pile!!

Imagine that!

They are roma tomatoes and must be from the tomatoes we threw in there last year.

I didn't believe him at first til I went back there and looked.

Sure enough we have compost tomatoes!! They are small and I don't know if they wil even get grown enough before a frost comes, but we'll see!

Compost Pile

This is my compost pile today. It's bigger and dirt-ier. It smells so earthy too. It is composting well so far and it is being used and added to all the time.





This is my compost pile in August of 2006.

compost

Compost dirt!!!!

We used the first dirt from the compost pile. We have 2 barrels that dh puts plants in every spring and he used some of it for replanting grass in the yard.
I need to get busy again with the compost pile and turn it now. DH added some wood shavings to the pile.
It smelled so DIRT like!!
YAY for me.
The tomato and herb garden are next to be planted. Unfortunately I will need to buy the plants since we didn't start any from seed.

The compost pile and a wood chipper

The top picture is of the "new" compost pile. The one I have been working on.
The second picture is of the "old" compost pile, the one that was my husbands.
I still have some work to do on it but it takes a while. I am enjoying working with the dirt, and mixing it all up, etc.
We also figured out where we will be putting the garden! I am looking forward to that too. I plan on doing some tomatoes and herbs to start with.
We bought a wood chipper/shredder yesterday. It was the guys first ever listing on Craigslist. We got a good deal on it too. It will be great for all the branches we have now and the pruning hubby will be doing. It also shreds leaves and pine needles for the compost pile. It's not a good idea to put a lot of pine needles in the compost, unless they are shredded. So this will work out great!!

The compost pile

I didn't know I already had a compost pile. Actually, it's my husbands compost pile. He started it 14 years ago. We have been married 12 yrs.
I always knew he threw the lawn clippings and leaves, and sawdust and ashes back behind the garage. I just never paid much attention to it ever.
Until now. Earlier this summer we added another shed to our yard. We put this one out behind the garage. Where the "pile" is. Hubby has never turned this pile until this summer..
So I decided I wanted a compost pile. I took over the duties and have been adding food scraps and I have been out there turning the pile. It smells like it should--earthy.
As I'm turning this mess that the husband created, I come across green lawn clippings--deep inside the bowels of the pile. So I am out there each day turning and mixing and getting the big pieces of wood and branches out.
It's a lot of work but oddly, I am enjoying it all.
I am hoping for a "steaming" compost pile this winter. I don't believe it ever steamed when the old man had control of it!
I am also looking forward to having less trash to put out every week.