I got out after work tonight and turned compost piles. It was way too hot over the weekend to do then. I moved the last of the stuff from the old middle bin over to top up the new bin I turned ten days ago. It looks like we’ll have two full bins ready to spread in the fall at this rate.
Then I turned the left bin into the center. It was still pretty hot, but very dry, so I wet it down well. If it heats up again, it should be ready for spring.
We scrounged four more pallets over the weekend, so I’m thinking we should top up the current new bin with coffee and woodchips asap, and that too might be ready in the spring. At leaast the coffee will stain the remaining chips nicely brown and there’ll be enough nitrogen that it won’t rob the soil. That much compost should make a real difference next year.
A third set of bins would be really nice, but I think the official family compost turner is going to hold out for a bucket on the tractor before this turns into a pile a week chore.
The battery timer on the upstairs window boxes came on while I was out there, so that’s one concern I don’t have. I do wonder if the tomatoes are getting enough water though. They may need second emitters. There was a little rain today though, and they got roof runoff, so today was not the day to worry.
Speaking of rain, the weather page says we got three inches today. We didn’t. Unfortunately the console also says we got three inches, which means the problem is on the roof.
Out in the potato patch, the ones in the center remain unhappy. They are surrounded by ones that seems very happy, so I think it has something to do with the amount of cardboard in the center. The mulch in the middle also seemed dry despite the rain. (The mushrooms finally seemed damp enough.) Next year, no cardboard under the potatoes.
