Black Gold

Our first garden was in the Spring of 2004. We didn't have much luck with it all,though we did get some lettuce. Our corn did nothing,nor did anything else we tried. We knew nothing at all about gardening,so we just tilled the soil and planted the seeds,watered,and weeded. So much for that.

That was our last garden until last year,when we had much better luck (see posts from 2009)

We did start a pile of leaves,pine and pine needles from our raking that Spring of our first garden. We figured at some point it would break down and give us some nice compost. Each year since 04 we have added to it. Last year we dug into it,and the soil was great! So we mixed it in with our regular soil,and with the extra help of plant food,our garden did very well,considering the horrible rainy summer we had. We did not get a few things,such as cukes,or peppers. Of course,these were planted from seed directly into the soil.

Going into this year,we were determined to learn more. So we started seeds inside. We looked at our pile of compost from the previous years ( we do have some left). Rick built a small box for the leaves,pine needles,and grass clippings (we now also have a riding mower with a bag attachment),which is full. We knew we needed more than just yard waste. So we decided to start adding kitchen waste to the mix.

We used one of our sap gathering buckets,drilled holes in the top and halfway down the sided for some aeration,and placed it next to the trash bin. Our coffee grounds,egg shells,shredded paper towels,shredded towel and toilet paper rolls,swept up dirt,veggie peelings,etc go into that bucket. It has also created less trash for the dump.

So...we have the bucket. Are we just going to dump it in the already full bin? We would get stuff everywhere.( Our bin really wasn't well thought out,to be honest). So.....we purchased a compost tumbler.

Rick and Zach starting the assembly

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Zach putting some of our yard waste in

After we put the kitchen scraps,and the yard waste in so it filled about up to the top of the tumbler,we closed the lid and gave it a few turns. I put a bit of water in it to keep it moist. In 2-3 weeks,we should have some nice compost.

Let the black gold creation begin!