My weekend compost turning activities turned sour when I realized I was covered with fire ants. It seems the second compost bin is one huge fire ant nest. There was a bite or two going from bin three to bin four. When I got half way through going from bin three to bin two, the pain began. My clothes were scattered all over the back yard, I was wearing my birthday suit by the time I got to the back door. The shower washed the ants off; but the pain remained.
All the clothes were sprayed with ant & roach spray and left in the garage. Even lotion did not stop the burning and itching. Fortunately the shed contains some Spectracide Fire Ant Mound Destroyer. Every bin was treated and two other mounds that were in the backyard. The fire ants died (I hope). The pain remained all day.
The good news is that I have so much compostable material that I had to set up a temporary bin. If the fire ants are dead, the bins will be turned and the material in the temporary bin will go into the accumulation bin. Do you suppose the poison will hurt the plants in the garden? Most of the compost in process now will be put into raised beds that will not be planted until spring.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label compost bins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label compost bins. Show all posts
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
New Composting System at Work
It is hard to tell this early in the process; but compost seems to mature faster in the new bins. One reason why it is hard to tell is there is so much of the old compost still in the system. Enough compost has accumulated already to fill at least one of the new raised beds.
The compost starts off in the “accumulation bin”. 
This bin collects everything that becomes available for a week. Each Saturday the 4th bin is piled onto the screen above the 5th bin which is being referred to as the storage bin. 
Everything that falls through the 2” X 4” mesh on top is considered finished. Everything that doesn’t fall through goes back into the accumulation bin. 
Then the 3rd bin is turned to the 4th bin and the 2nd bin is turned to the 3rd bin and the accumulation bin is turned into the 2nd bin. The accumulation process starts over.
This bin collects everything that becomes available for a week. Each Saturday the 4th bin is piled onto the screen above the 5th bin which is being referred to as the storage bin. 
Everything that falls through the 2” X 4” mesh on top is considered finished. Everything that doesn’t fall through goes back into the accumulation bin. 
Then the 3rd bin is turned to the 4th bin and the 2nd bin is turned to the 3rd bin and the accumulation bin is turned into the 2nd bin. The accumulation process starts over. Right now the accumulation bin is full and there is a bag of grass that will start the new batch off right. The rainy weekend slowed down the turning. Compost from the 4th bin clumps up when wet and is hard to push through the mesh into the storage bin.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Monday, October 12, 2009
New Raised Beds
This long weekend saw some progress in the garden. The lumber has been identified for 4 new raised beds. One which was built this morning is 3’ X 8’. Two of the others will be 4’ X 12’ and will be used for squash. The other one will be 3’ X 12’. There may be another bed 4’ X 4’ to accommodate a stump. The stump is too much trouble to get out; but it can be worked around.
Most of the fallow part of the garden was tilled this weekend. That is needed before the beds can be built. The soil is tilled as deep as the tiller will go. The box is built on top of the ground and filled with compost and the loose dirt around the bed. The bed can then be planted or left for the spring. The beds that are left for spring get a layer of mulch. The spaces between the beds (30”) is mulched as well. In the spring the mulch will be pulled off of the beds and left in the paths to conserve moisture, prevent weeds and provide a home for earthworms.
The new compost system works great. There won’t be enough compost for all of the new raised beds so “black gold” will be purchased from compost central. A pickup truck full is $24.90. This is really beautiful compost and well worth the money.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Most of the fallow part of the garden was tilled this weekend. That is needed before the beds can be built. The soil is tilled as deep as the tiller will go. The box is built on top of the ground and filled with compost and the loose dirt around the bed. The bed can then be planted or left for the spring. The beds that are left for spring get a layer of mulch. The spaces between the beds (30”) is mulched as well. In the spring the mulch will be pulled off of the beds and left in the paths to conserve moisture, prevent weeds and provide a home for earthworms.
The new compost system works great. There won’t be enough compost for all of the new raised beds so “black gold” will be purchased from compost central. A pickup truck full is $24.90. This is really beautiful compost and well worth the money.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Friday, October 2, 2009
New Compost System
A new compost bin system has been rattling around in my head for awhile. It involved a lot of treated lumber and construction and expense and work. The reality finally happened and involved almost none of that. Michael Swol mentioned using pallets for another project. The design using pallets for compost bins jumped into my head.
Michael and I picked up some pallets from Harkey Tile. They were placed together against a fence to make 5 bins that are roughly 3’ by 3’ by 3’. My wife looked out the window and screamed. They are a little bit ugly. She made me move them to a hidden corner of the yard. Even picking up the pallets and doing the construction twice, there is still only about 4 hours and no money except for a few nails and some gas in the project. 2 levels of used 2” X 6”s nail the pallets together on the front and provide a stop for the compost.
The only thing I’m not really sure about is the closure on the front. It works well to keep the compost in the bin. How hard will it be to fork the compost from one bin to the next? The answer to that will come next weekend. Michael still needs pallets for his projects and I will try to get more uniform pallets to replace the odd ones so the effect will be less ugly.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Michael and I picked up some pallets from Harkey Tile. They were placed together against a fence to make 5 bins that are roughly 3’ by 3’ by 3’. My wife looked out the window and screamed. They are a little bit ugly. She made me move them to a hidden corner of the yard. Even picking up the pallets and doing the construction twice, there is still only about 4 hours and no money except for a few nails and some gas in the project. 2 levels of used 2” X 6”s nail the pallets together on the front and provide a stop for the compost.
The only thing I’m not really sure about is the closure on the front. It works well to keep the compost in the bin. How hard will it be to fork the compost from one bin to the next? The answer to that will come next weekend. Michael still needs pallets for his projects and I will try to get more uniform pallets to replace the odd ones so the effect will be less ugly.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
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