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All matters yard worthy….gardening, landscaping…you get the idea!
Typical scene in our yard in summer, a kid and a dog messing about I think he is putting something on the shed roof to keep away from Addy.
I am still looking at all those jobs that didn't get done this fall. I swear if it wasn't raining out there I would go out and cut back and clean up some of those perennials. Maybe with enough nice winter days I might get it done before spring yet. LOL
haha I treasure my undone chores, just so I CAN go out on warm winter days and mess around.
Oh look, it is Chester the cat on the shed, LOL. And hey, there is my Wonderful Mulch Screen leaning against the shed.
: ^)
Grass in summer pictures looks shockingly green at this time of year.
My stupid earth machine is nice and warm with several gallons of coffee grounds added.
Sally--
maybe i should add some grinds to mine....
Remember the one year, I had a bucket sitting at my local 7-11 and I went
every other day and came home with piles of coffee grinds?
I used some back then--but i still have a bucket that has been sitting around....
Do you think it will hasten up some composting this time of year if
I put some grinds in MY SEM??? it is kind of full...almost 4 years worth in there?????
I have not emptied it....Egads!!! Where do all the piles and piles of veggie scraps go
that I dump in there?
Planned to empty it out this summer, but never got to it...weather was not the greatest...
Maybe I should have an S.E.M emptying party here this spring? ...:o)
G.
Gita, you can call your neighborhood Starbucks for coffee grounds. They can collect loads in just one day.
I have never got any compost out of my compost pile. It is too spread-out. Large dry branches do not decompose and veggie/fruit scraps are always eaten by critters :o(. I need to build a compost bin using pallets that stores themselves do not recycle, the flimsy type that they don't want to keep. That's a good project for a warm winter day.
I like those compost bins made from palletts so easy and nice. We use to have that years ago now we just have the monster compost pile. No matter how much compost you take away it just keeps growing. LOL
Gita, you have a bucket of grounds that have sat? Just go sprinkle them around in the beds. And stop leaving it in a bucket for years. Fresh grounds could just be sprinkled around in your beds as a gentle organic fertilizer. Even just on the lawn. They do not burn anything. And please tip the coffee people. Those are min wage jobs.
Gita, your SEM gets mostly kitchen waste and you do not put much leaves in it right? Then you do not really need to put coffee grounds in it.
Your four years of waste has been turning into humus, a very concentrated and finished organic compound. And you probably have soldier flies eating waste in summer so it is flying away.
I would pick up the whole bin and set aside. Fork the rough unfinished stuff into buckets, THen shovel the composty looking stuff at the bottom into the wheelbarrow and throw it around the garden. Put the bin back and put the bucket stuff back in. Well, put some dry leaves on the bottom first if you have any.
The point of heating up compost is to help organisms work even in cold weather, and maybe to kill some disease organisms that may be on plant parts. But its not critical at all. Its important to people who NEED the compost to work more quickly.
I support composting even if the only point is to not send normal stuff into a sanitary landfill.
We use compost by the yard. Our heavy clay soil must be amended to improve drainage and reduce compaction. Bec No Va used to joke that our compost pile was as big as her back yard. I just keep it pushed up with the tractor. When we want to use some, I just push the top back and start screening. We usually use about a 4" pot of lime per bushel to sweeten it and adjust the PH. I have been feeding it a couple times a year with a cup full of black strap molasses (animal feed grade, not pasteurized) dissolved in a sprinkling can of warm water. I think Docgipe gave me that tidbit. It's supposed to stimulate the enzymes and bacteria that decompose the organic matter. Since the organic material continues to break down in the soil, you need to repeat the application of compost to the soil every 3 years or so. Some of our beds we started by filling them with mushroom soil, in a 3 year period they sunk as much as 3-4"s and require a lot of compost to maintain the soil level.
Sally---
I DO do exactly as you have said--in unloading my finished compost.
It is just NOT as simple as you say...it is a huge chore--at least for me.
1--I spread a tarp on the ground next to the SEM.
2--I remove as much stuff from the top as i can--the uncomposted stuff..
Once I get to the mid point--I can separate to SEM in two sections
and continue shoveling out the not-composted stuff. Now I have a bigger
opening to shovel through than from the top--which is most difficult.
3--When I get to the "gold'--I shovel that into a big plastic yard bucket, the
one with the two carry ropes on each side. BTW--when the bucket is full--
it is impossible to pick it up or drag it as it will be moved to a location sort of
out of sight behind my big, round table and under that big, long "table" by my
Burning Bushes. BTW--near the bottom of the SEM I will also encounter a lot of
Maple roots which have now grown into the compost. Who knows how much by now??
Because I can only move the bucket when partially full--I now have to schlep the rest of
the compost some other way to this big bucket...like my Wheelbarrow and shovel it in.
It still has some compost in it from the last emptying...not much--but some...
4--Now I have to reassemble the SEM and load the un-composted stuff back in it.
Thanks for the tip to put leaves on the bottom. I have lots from this fall's shredding...
in black bags. I also have a trash-bag-full if decaying straw. Will use that...
Then all the mice can build nests in there....
You said---"I would pick up the whole bin and set aside.". You nuts??? That's totally crazy
and impossible!!! It weighs a ton--and is also bolted to the ground with long screws that
came with it...
As you can see--it is not a simple process...
I do not, usually, see any flies in there...gnats--yes-- but mostly pill bugs and some fat larva.
Of course--flies could come and go through the vent holes all around the SEM.
I have removed small amounts of the soil through that silly drawer opening at the bottom.
You cannot get a lot of the soil out through that--just arm's reach--but I have done that.
I usually do not, randomly, just scatter the compost in beds--too scarce to do that--
but use it in mixing soils in lg. pots--planting veggies-etc..
I DO use some of it to dig in around my tomatoes.
I DO, occasionally, put some leaves in it--but not a lot. Then it would fill it to the top.
I often have enough veggie scraps to add some there twice a week.
Will try to get this done in late spring--just have to set a day apart to accomplish this...
Still 'dreaming" of having a 4x4x4 open compost bin in the opening at the end
of my raised bed--which I left there just for this purpose.
I don't want pallets--they are ugly! But--there are nicer ones too...with closer together slats.
They would have to be of treated wood--or they would fall apart in a few years.
The one remaining issue is--that IF this bin is ever built--it CANNOT touch the ground below it.
It would have to be slightly elevated because of the maple roots growing into it, which
would totally fill it in one year. It may need only a couple inches elevation......????
SO--how will the worms get in???? I could buy some red worms and toss them in
to start the colony going...Feed them dried blood---coffee grounds---chocolate cake?...:o)
I am willing to pay someone to build this for me. Someone who knows a bit about building...
Haven't found anyone just casually asking around...
Here's the saved area for my compost bin. G.
Sally donner---
This is a good video on how to build a compost bin out of pallets.
The pallets should be, somehow, "treated"--not just fresh lumber.
Looks so easy!
What it does NOT cover is lining the bin inside with a 1/4" wire mesh.
A necessary stem to keep critters out of it.
G,
http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/urban-farm-videos/urban-farming-activities/build-compost-bin.aspx
edited to say that if you just Google "Building a compost bin" there are many links you can explore
and choose one you like. There is one for a double-bin made out of pallets too.
This message was edited Dec 30, 2013 12:09 PM
I never bolted mine to the ground- Why would I have to? But that probably explains some giant plastic screws I have seen in the shed .
If you bolted yours, take them out!!!
Pick up and set to the side should read Lift the plastic bin off the pile and set to the side, OK? Make sense now? Capisce? (Origin: Italian capisce, third person singular present tense of capire 'to understand')
Yes I very well know it is not easy as you know I deal with the same thing. And it's a horrible chore trying to empty it from the top OR bottom. So DO NOT bolt it to the ground, and you SHOULD wiggle it and then pull up on the plastic and the whole bin comes off since it is wider at the bottom than the top. Now you have an exposed pile.
I bet you do have soldier flies and you will never see them. They would be some maggots you would only see if you dig into the moist fresh-ish stuff. They eat fresh kitchen stuff voraciously and then crawl away. Adults are timid and not annoying at all.
I cleaned up some leavs on the flower bed and got to see emerging columbine leaves signs of spring!
Well, Sally-----A few things for me to think about.....Thanks...
I keep one of those shoe-box size plastic containers next to my sink
in the kitchen. In that--I throw every little scrap of vegetative matter.
In the summer--or if I am cooking something--that can fill up twice a week.
Then I dump it in the SEM.
One negative to keeping it there is that the Fungus Gnats which abound
in this area will go in the container and lay their eggs (invisible).
I only know that b/c all of a sudden there are loads of tiny (3mm) larva all around
the box lid fold. They are not easy to remove--so I have to dump out the contents
and scrub the box and lid with dish soap.
Here's the odd thing......These ONLY appear there if I have C antelope or Tomato
scraps in there. Never see them other times.....Hmmmm....Article coming up??????
BTW--IF you ever come this way--the 95/43 exchange keeps changing...
Now there is NO Exit 67A or 67B. It is just #67--and then left (W.)or right (E.) on #43.
One has to really be alert around here......
G.
thank you, for the heads up!
We attended another town meeting where the subjects of sludge and citizens rights were brought up. The SYNAGRO representative was at a short loss for words when I asked him why they hadn't considered "injecting" the product (I had this information thanks to Ric). He said that the product that they were bringing in is not "injectable". We don't want the sludge at all, but maybe the application will be slowed down by giving more food for thought. Most of the testimonies from the citizens of the neighboring communities, that used sludge, was glossed over even though the people said they felt forced to move because of the effects of the stink, flies and blown dust on hot dry days. The local paper (Lehigh Valley) posted misinformation about what was agreed to. It seems that the wealthy citizen who is pushing this forward, has lots of influence everywhere. The only university agreeing with the benign nature of the sludge is PENN STATE. I guess they don't want to lose the monetary support from the state.
The State Supreme Court just OK'd citizens rights amendments for the SHALE projects. We hope that this sets a precedent for what we are asking to be done with SLUDGE.
More meetings, petitioning, door knocking, sign distributing and donations to come.
Thank those of you who gave us positive comments and info!!!
Roses, How far away from you will this spreading be? Hopefully your group will get some positive results. It isn't an easy thing to fight something like this.
" It seems that the wealthy citizen who is pushing this forward, has lots of influence everywhere."
Probably an alumnus of PS, who pays for their opinion from deep pockets!
We are not adjacent to any of the fields, but have good friends who are. Our house is about 2000 to 2500 feet from the closest one.
Ric, I can't find any info on the injection of the bio solids. Can you point me in this direction?
I would think they inject treated liquid effluent, but sludge may be a solid product that is spread and turned in.
Maybe there is a farm implement that puts down solid and turns it it at the same time, like a disc …plow?
There was a proposal for spraying treated effluent on a field here but that was about 25 years ago and I don't remember if they ever actually did it.
Teri, try this: Hyperlink did not work..
All I did was google sludge injection tractor, and if you go to images you get picks and some info. Also try here: http://www.csg.co.uk/downloads/Recycling%20to%20Land%20and%20Soil%20Injection.pdf
Injection claims to reduce odor emissions by 80% and ammonia emissions by 90-95%.
Originally they spread the dried stuff and disc it in immediately, but that did smell but not as bad as the liquid manure from the lagoons.
This message was edited Jan 1, 2014 1:57 AM
Thanks, Ric.
Gita, thank you for the video link. Very informative.
As it turned out, I couldn't level the ground for the project because it was still frozen. Duh! Will have to wait till the ground warms up. I am determined to do a better job with composting this year.
I don't have enough "greens" for the compost, especially this time of year. Since coffee grounds are mostly nitrogen, I wonder if they are a substitute.
Donner--
Could you convince your grocery store to donate their so-so produce
for your composting?
I imagine there would be a law against it. But you can ask.
Mat work better if you approach a Farm Stand as they would not have those
federal laws to worry about.
Hope you celebrated the New Year in a way that brigs you happiness...
I worked both days. Suits me fine.
G.
Gita, I'm sure there is no regulation of produce disposal. I used to stop at a couple of grocery stores a couple of times a week (days their fresh produce came in), I didn't use it to compost, but to supplement feeding the 3-4 pigs I raised each year. Most of the managers would let workers set the boxes by their dumpster instead of in the dumpster. The understanding was if I didn't pick them up they would resume dumping them, my loss. My pigs ate very well, part of it free.
Interesting idea of getting disposed produce from the local super market. I will check it out once the compost bin has been built. Thank you for the suggestion.
Donner, I've read that used coffee grounds are a great source of nitrogen for the compost. It's supposed to "cook" very hot, since the particle size is already so small (thus more surface area).
Donner: I respect the "right" way to compost -- but we have 3 huge compost bins and we do it the slow way. We don't worry about layering browns and greens. And it eventually turns to compost anyway. It makes a huge difference if you shred the leaves, which we didn't do this past fall (no shredder). But it still only takes a year to completely compost the leaves.
Composting or not, coffee grounds are good and readily available.
When I lived in Va, I used to get truck loads of leave compost each spring. The Fairfax county government collects leaves each fall, and the compost becomes available in March at several solid waste stations. Residents could just go pick it up free of charge. Maryland (or just Montgomery County?) seems to sell leave compost in bags which gets expensive if a large quantity is needed.
Here's what our local landfill says about its yard waste re use:
" Brush is separated, ground into mulch and used to create driving surfaces throughout the Facility. It is also used for temporary soil erosion control in the active landfill area. Wood waste that is greater than 6” in diameter is separated for customers to take for firewood. Grass and leaves are separated, ground into small pieces and used to create compost. The compost is used on-site or sold to vendors. " Well, I'm happy that the county makes use of it.
There is a Baltimore Co. Solid Waste Mgmt. place not far from me. Maybe 6mi.
It is on Cove rd. off of Pulaski Hwy (Rt. #40)
I hope they separate materials like you [posted, sally. That makes my mind
more at ease. I have always heard negative things about weds and poison Ivy, etc.
being in the compost they give away.
They also offer free compost in the spring. I have never gone to get it, as it is a bit
labor intensive to do your own shoveling and hauling.
You have to live in Baltimore County to be able to do this. Thems the rules....
I shoveled enough Mushroom Soil a couple of years ago. Hard to lift the filled bags.
or totes-full. That was the place called "Egypt Farms"--I made two trips.
It is on Rt. #40 just 2 blocks before Cove Rd.
At E.F.--you drive your car on the big scales and they weigh it. Then you shovel as much
of whatever you came to get--and when you are done--they weigh the car again
and you pay for the difference. Great if you are big and strong--you can shovel
all kinds of things and don't have to pay for delivery.
edited--cause link did not work...
This message was edited Jan 3, 2014 7:05 PM
I' d like to go to Egypt Farms in a couple months, just for kicks.
There's a Veteran Composting outfit somewhere around that side of town too.
Remind me in spring....
I may need more mushroom soil myself....Hope they still do this....
When i went--there was this "mountain", literally, of it smelling of do-do...
Glorious dark stuff....
May be good to go get it after a week of NO rain--as you could shovel more for
less $$. Wet soil weighs more...DAH!
Their address is:
11412 Pulaski Hwy.
White Marsh, MD 21162
Phone: 410-335-3247
I love mushroom soil..........
We bought a truck-load of compost from (I think) Takoma Park in Maryland this spring - it was from one of the local areas -- and it was really quite well screened -- I had no complaints.
Here's some yardening you can do this weekend!
Bring your hand tools to Behnke's this weekend and they'll sharpen them for free! I'm most definitely making time for this. There's a sharpening demo at 1 before the free sharpening.
Oh that does sound nice.
I have about 6 prs. of pruning sheers that ALL could use sharpening....
I tried last winter--just using a file. Don't think it did much good...
Question:
This applies to sharpening anything...even knives.
Should I sharpen just one side--or both? I read somewhere that one side
gives a better edge.
How about those sharpeners where you just slide the knife on?
Should I slide the knife back and forth--or just draw in in one direction?
Do the at sharpeners sharpen both sides of the blade at the same time?
Thanks! back to cleaning house......G.
Gita, most pruners only have one cutting blade, you only sharpen that one, the other side is the anvil and should be kept burr and nick free. By taking them apart and using a stone or file to flat file the entire inner surface. so as not to create a gap. If there are nicks in the inner rounded surface of the anvil clean it up by using a round or half round file only filing away from the inner surface. You can clean the inner surface of the cutting blade the same as the the anvil filing or stoning the entire surface. That blade you want to sharpen from the outside in. If a small burr develops don't remove it, after reassembly it will snap its self off on the anvil and leave a sharper edge. After sharpening use a little vegetable or EVO oil on them, you can also spray them with a little WD40 or PAM.
Most of the draw type knife sharpeners only require that, draw the knife through. Many of this type have a reversible carbide blade that can be turned around for better results as they age.
Gita: I just bought an electric knife sharpener, and learned in the course of setting that up that American knives are sharpened to a 20 degree angle; Asian knives are sharpened to 15 degrees. American knives and sharpened on both sides as are most Asian knives, but some Asian knives are only sharpened on one side. The honing steel that we had been using to sharpen our knives apparently only straightens the blade (it gets many tiny nicks and bends from use) but doesn't restore the correct angle.
ssgardener: That is so exciting! I have tons of hand tools -- many of them incredibly cheap though. I wonder if it is worth it? The good ones I have I seldom use because I am afraid of leaving them outside!
The sharpening clinic is every weekend this month and next!!!
Here is what the website says:
Free Tool Sharpening
At Behnke's in Beltsville
Weekends January 11 - February 23
1:00 pm - 1:30pm
SHARPENING DEMO
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
GET YOUR HAND TOOLS SHARPENED
This is a free service, first come, first served.
Please be considerate of others. If you bring in a lot of tools we may need to do your items in "batches" so as to fit others in between.
Ric---
Obviously you know how to sharpen anything....but I was lost with
all the stuff and the equipment you mentioned...NOT familiar with those.
Taking it apart?.....Stone?....Stoning the surface?....Half-round file?.....
HUH?
SO--there is NO way to sharpen the blade without disassembling the pruner?
I really abuse my pruners. If it does not cut right away, I twist it and turn it...
till I get the stem cut...a no-no-I imagine.
It would be nice if somewhere here they did free sharpening....
I have never, really, looked into it...
Overall--I prefer the bypass pruners...the anvil ones seem to lose their use faster.
Thanks though---G.
There was an old fella' that lived in the 'burg. A small ethnic area in Trenton. His business was to sharpen things. Many restaurants were regular customers, he'd pull up to the curb in his small step van and collect any knives they wanted done and return to his shop (the back of the van). He had a large trundle whet stone, There he'd sharpen the knives and return them. The chef knives were usually 15 degrees, the steak knives 20. After his daily route he would stop at 2 of the larger hospitals and pick up used surgical tools, he took those home and using special jewelers tools sharpened them to be sterilized and reused. In the summertime he would have the back of the truck open and enjoyed chatting with passersby. I saw him fairly often while waiting on the bus to campus.
Even the bypass cutters usually have a blade side and an anvil side. It is better to disassemble them but not necessary if you just want to clean them up a bit.
This message was edited Jan 6, 2014 8:18 PM
