Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Waste Not, Want Not

This is our compost pile in SJC. It is bulging from the end-of-summer clean up and will be ready for spreading in the beds in the spring.

This is the compost pile in our Laguna garden. It will also be ready to be spread throughout the garden in the spring. Nothing goes in our green waste bins for curbside pickup except for diseased cuttings from roses to keep from spreading fungus problems like black spot and rust. I don't worry much about the internal temperatures of the piles or the ratio of green to brown waste. We just let nature do its thing and soon or later we get black gold!

6 comments:

"Daffodil Planter" Charlotte Germane said...

As new gardeners my husband and I were careful to layer different additions to the compost heap, and I think he even took its temperature. Now we just throw the stuff on, and water it in the summer to keep the worms comfortable.

VW said...

We started a compost pile last week, finally, and I feel so much better about dumping my clippings on the pile instead of into the green bin. We'll see if my haphazard approach yields good compost anytime soon.

Gail said...

Impressive! I am better at composting leaves and creating leaf mulch then composting. gail

Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog said...

I compost the same way as you. Just throw it all on and hope it gets done! I'm more concerned about not sending that good stuff to the landfill than in using it in my beds though. It never seems to get done enough for my tastes. But I'll bet I could grow some good things under the pile if I ever moved it!

Becca's Dirt said...

Your compost piles look good and looks like you have a lot. I must admit that mine is lacking since I haven't added anything to it in a while. It is a good feeling to make use of waste.

Anonymous said...

I so admire people who compost! Waste not, want not! What a great title! Looks like you have a LOT to compost. It will be great fertilizer come in the spring.