Like I said - it could be a valium deficiency.......
Hehe....I mean, who in their right mind would sacrifice 36 sq.ft. of garden space for an entire season just to make more compost? My biggest problem, is that I think too much...That last truckload of leaves was just sitting there on the ground in their respective bags, and I looked over at the 4x9 box next to the woods and thought "hmm..." After thinking about the less than ideal yields it's produced over the last 3 years (because of limited sunlight exposure), I started dumping leaves into the enclosure lickety split. This newest addition increases my composting area to 388 cubic feet, or a little over 14 cubic yards....When completely decomposed, all efforts should yield about 4 cubic yards of finished compost. Ha! I know...it's insane! Now, where's my crown? hehe...(the undisputed king of backyard composting)
In other news, the garden planning for 2011 is complete, and is gonna be comprised of mostly melons and tomatoes. I figure about 6 different kinds of melons and 15 different varieties of tomatoes will be grown - making this the year of vertical gardening around here. The only thing to get worked out, is where to put the beans....If I don't grow beans - there will be a revolt, for sure! Hmm....I wonder if squirrels will bother beans, if tried in the "squirrel hot spot" next to the little playhouse? Something to think about, for sure.
Speaking of squirrels, the trap was put in storage about a month ago, because acorns were (and still are) in abundance for them to eat. So, I decided that it would be better if implemented toward the last part of winter - when food is in short supply...hehe...yeah, i've got a plan!
No outdoor projects have been done around the house, but I did manage to do some work on one of the heat pump units in our 2 story home. It's had a very slow refrigerant leak for a while, and has to be fixed before warm weather hits. So, I spent last Saturday methodically testing the unit to get a vague idea of which part the leak was in, and finally determined that it was where I suspected - the condenser coil. I'll likely do a post on the repair, just in case anyone might be helped from it.
Take care, and happy composting
EG
15 comments:
Got a question for ya, EG. We had a propane water heater here in AZ, and replaced it with a brand new one last year. The old one, when the water was heating, made a banging sound like someone pounding on the wall. The new one does the same thing. I'm thinking there has to be a vapor lock or something, as I doubt heat expansion would happen when it's 100+ degrees outside. Any ideas?
PS...have to do this, it didn't let me check the email box the first time ;-)
Granny - hmm...it's definitely because of expansion. If it gets bad enough, you'll see water on the floor where the relief valve has opened occasionally. Try installing an expansion tank on the cold water inlet line, with the bladder pressurized to about 30psi air pressure. That'll probably stop it from banging. You can purchase one from Lowes or similar, and they are sized for the water volume (gallons in water heater). Let me know if you need anymore help.
Well EG that's not what I was thinking you were going to do when you said you were going to loose some garden space.
I don't know if your squirrels will bother the beans or not. I do know that these darn city squirrels will dig up anything!! I just hate them!
I love it, you can never have too much compost and will have some very fine soil for those veggies to grow in.
That is a LOT of compost!
Do you have sketches done yet of where you're putting everything yet? What varieties did you decide on?
Robin - Yeah I know....quite unexpected, wasn't it? hehe
Mr H. - since I plan on being a lazy composter this year, I felt it necessary to make more.
Megan - I agree! The drawing for this year's planting is complete, and i'll post about it in upcoming weeks.
Compost king, you are a bit wacky to be sacrificing the food for the compost, but it is all about what makes you happy in the end.....and clearly that is stealing bagged leaves and grass clippings from the street- Ha!
Someone recently shared that trapping and re-locating squirrels is an awful thing to do to a squirrel, seems as though they are quite territorial and do not welcome new-comers. Who knew? The tidbit came up as someone was discussing how I trapped & released squirrel came back with a chewed up tail. From FAR away. Lol, not sure the validity of the rumor, but people with shot guns surely may use it as ammunition. ;)
Hands you THE COMPOST CROWN. I love it! If I had more room I think I'd join you in your rotting adventures. But 9 cubic feet is all I can spare, ah well... next garden.
I've not had a problem with squirrels in my beans... sunflowers and corn on the other hand are another story.
That is great! I love how you are staying busy over the winter months and if composting is your project then ... go for it! It is vital to a garden. You will figure out how to make up for the space, i'm sure.
I actually thought of you when I passed about a dozen bags of leaves the other day thinking you'd be stopping to pick them up!
Ok, man, one question... do you USE all of your compost and need more? I mean, you have tons cooking, will you need more than that. I use mine for augmenting the soil in my existing beds, as well as in my SWCs, but don't come close to using 3x3x5 worth of compost. In my opinion, you are insane to use prime garden space for composting slow-degrading leaves. I guess that you wouldn't need to move it at least, that bed's composted... hehe. Have you ever thought about overwintering compostable mixes in your beds? My brother does it every few years to replenish the nutrients. You just turn them in a month before planting.
Anyway, I'm back to blogging, when my blog site is up. Thinking of chickens and startting some greens under lights. Time to ramp up the garden.
Hope you are feeling better. Been reading but not posting of late.
Take care man!
Sinfonian - it's good to hear from you! Since the beds have been made taller, and the new 5ft x 28ft flowerbed has yet to be filled, I need all the compost I can make right now. The 1 bin that is filled completely with finished compost will be used up this year, then thecurrently working batch will last me a few years, I hope.
I'm going to end up buying compost this year as I didn't have my bins up and working last year with the move. So sad. At least I have some leaves to work with next year.
LOL, EG, I thought you were ignoring me! Turns out your comment went into my spam file, 'cause you used the word "valium". Hahaaaaaa!
Thanks for the answer, I'll file it for next fall, as we won't be going to the "big city" to Lowes or Home Depot between now and when we head home.
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