Outdoor Compost Bins

After several years of trying various composting methods, I have settled on two types of composting that work best for our household and garden size. For outdoor composting, my favorite bin is the Geobin, and for indoor composting, I use the SCD Probiotics K100 All Seasons Kit with Bokashi. In this post, I will first mention the various outdoor containers and methods that I have tried with only fair results:

We started with the simple method of having two exposed compost piles located along our fence border, about 100 feet from the garden. One pile was for smaller material such as grass clippings, leaves, ashes, straw, and plant-based food scraps; the second pile was for weeds, small twigs, and clippings from bushes – basically, things that might need longer to break down. We turned the first pile once a month. It did yield some compost, but poison ivy infiltrated the heap and we basically abandoned it. We allowed nature to take its course (no turning) with the second pile of larger organic matter which took a couple of years to decompose.

Several years ago, our local extension office sold (at a discount) cube-shaped black plastic compost bins that had some ventilation holes at the top, and a trap door at the base to release the compost that was finished. We purchased two of these bins – one for depositing current plant matter and a full bin that was left to “cook”. These containers also created some good, usable compost until fire ants (rampant in GA) found the food scraps and discovered that this shelter was a perfect place to build large mounds. The ants were resistant to our watering and turning the pile; when disturbed, they always seemed to come back in bigger numbers. We grow organically, so we did not want to use insecticides of any kind, and did not want to introduce the fire ants in this compost to the soil in our vegetable garden. We eventually gave those bins away.

A friend gave us a large cylindrical compost tumbler that is mounted on a frame and has a handle for turning the compost. We tried it for a season, but the compost became extremely heavy to turn, and inside the tumbler, we must have had too much nitrogen as the finished compost had a sludge-like consistency.

I did some research, hoping to find the most efficient outdoor home composting system, and discovered an excellent comparison study done in 2008 sponsored by the Dave Wilson Nursery with UC Sacramento Master Gardeners, county extension agents, and university farm advisors facilitating the test. They compared 10 different compost bins for greatest efficiency and ease of use. Over 8 weeks, they used the same materials, same time intervals, and evaluated the temperature and air circulation, as well as doing a nutrient analysis of the finished compost. The design that placed first among the ten bins was the Geobin made by Presto. http://geobin123.com/

It is a large, open, standing bin with many circulation holes (no lid). Because of the size (higher mass) and holes for circulation, the compost in the Geobin reached the highest temperature (140 degrees F) of the ten bins, and also broke the material down most efficiently.

Geobin

I purchased this bin and have been very happy with it. The Geobin composts so quickly, it never stays full for more than a day or two. I keep it in the garden next to our deck where my family can easily empty food or garden scraps every night. Other than attracting slugs (usually found where there are large pieces of decomposing plant matter), pests and odor have not been a problem (occasional bees, birds, and butterflies will visit when there is fresh fruit on top). I turn the pile about once a week and so far, the ants and poison ivy have left it alone, probably due to the heat generated inside the bin.

Seeds germinating in fertile compost pile

I wondered at one point last year how to get the finished compost out of the bottom of this large bin if I didn't want to wait until the entire pile had decomposed. I decided to simply lift it up to see if it could be easily moved once compost was in it. To my surprise, the compost stayed in place while I relocated the bin. The majority of the material was fresh at the time this picture was taken, so it held its form perfectly (no spilling over).

Compost heap holding its shape after moving the Geobin (summer 2013).

This material turned into beautiful, rich dark compost in less than 6 months. 

March 2014 - The lower, finished part of this pile consists of the grass clippings, etc., from the previous summer.

 

I used a pitch fork to transfer the unfinished material back to the relocated bin, and was able to use the finished compost at the bottom for garden beds. It was a much easier process than I expected. 

Finished compost ready to add to the garden

Compost applied to the tomato beds

The Geobin made excellent compost in a reasonable amount of time, and I am anxious to see how well our tomatoes will grow in it this year.

The design below was bound to happen when passions of music, gardening, and photography coexist in one mind! 

My musikgarten

Please stay tuned for part two of this blog series when I share experiences and techniques for indoor composting. 

Blessings on your gardens! 

~Karen

The Bird Food Garden

Many gardeners enjoy bird watching and reaping the benefits the birds provide by keeping populations of insect pests under control.  To attract birds to the garden, it helps to provide water for drinking and bathing, as well as a supply of wild bird seed to supplement their diet. 

Homemade trail mix

I found that the many bird visitors to my feeders were eating faster than I could keep the containers filled, so I decided to do an experiment, and hopefully, save some time and money.

Empty feeders after 2 days

I let the seed that fell from the feeders germinate and grow around the poles and feeders. I never prepared the ground or watered the seedlings – I just let nature take its course and didn’t interfere by mowing or weeding that small patch of sprouting millet, safflower, corn, and sunflowers. 

It created a bit of a messy garden spot for a season, but it was definitely worth it to have back-up food available when the feeders were empty, and to see the birds enjoying their organic seed buffet.

Green buds full of seeds

Cardinal snacking in the rain

Still visiting in fall

Bursting with seeds

Leftover seeds for the winter

Providing bird seed through the year at no extra cost was effortless and rewarding! 

Many blessings to you, garden friends! ~Karen

Homesteading “Light”, Part 2: Winter Garden Beds

I love that we can still enjoy planting and harvesting crops year-round in Georgia (and many other places). It is just a matter of knowing what and when to plant for your growing zone and microclimate of your garden location. In this post, I will discuss cool weather crops I planted in prepared soil beds, rather than bins, and my reasons for including other gardening techniques.
I have thoroughly enjoyed gardening in bins on our deck for several years.  


I have also kept a garden plot in our yard for larger, more sprawling crops like melons, cucumbers, beans, etc. Last year, I wanted to experiment with growing unusual varieties of tomatoes, cukes, melons, beans, and heirloom flowers. I like the convenience of being able to pick fresh garden produce right outside the kitchen door while preparing meals (which the deck garden has provided). When I needed more space for the new varieties, my husband and I extended the growing space to surround the deck. I marked the new garden spaces by arranging a brick border, then we tilled up the


lawn and added some fencing, creating another small garden at the bottom of our deck stairs. Here we enjoyed a season of tomatoes and beans surrounded by a border of marigolds and sweet basil (which helped to deter some garden pests).






When the warm temperatures ended, I decided to plant some cool-weather crops. In our growing zone, crops that have survived the winter (for us) are broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, garlic, onions, celery, Swiss chard, kohlrabi, perennial herbs, and lettuce, to name a few. Planting these required only moderate preparation; I removed debris from the previous crop since pests might overwinter in the soil (also a good reason to rotate crops),
 

and added some composted horse manure from a nearby stable, then raked leaves into a garden wagon and covered the beds with the leaves.


 
 

 
I put several bales of wheat straw around the beds to make some obvious paths for walking which kept the soil in the beds from being disturbed or compacted.
 

 
 

 
The organic matter caused the earthworm population in these beds to multiply, adding beneficial worm castings to the soil. The only downside of this practice was the increase in the slug population in the soil - more on that in a future post. Overall, the soil was rich in beneficial microorganisms and it produced healthy vegetable crops all year long.
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

It has been wonderful to supplement meals with fresh, organic, non-GMO vegetables for only the cost of seeds and a bit of time and attention. Now to peruse all the seed catalogs to plan for the spring garden!

Blessings to you, dear garden friends!
~Karen

Homesteading "Light", Part 1: Growing Food

 
We live in a rural, but growing area where several of our friends and neighbors have productive farms with various livestock and large crops from which they make their living. We love being situated on a street amidst farms and land that have been in the same families for generations.

Even after living here for 18 years, we have never been “complete homesteaders”. In fact, the list of things we don’t do is bigger than the list of things we do according to some definitions of homesteading. I don’t apologize for not doing it all – my family simply isn’t wired to engage in every aspect of homesteading and we are okay with that. I write this to encourage folks who are interested in growing food, cooking from scratch, and working with elements of nature in your own yard.

If it is any consolation to those who are hesitant to try a modified homesteading lifestyle:

· We didn’t build our house; we bought a simple older home that needed some finishing.
· We don’t own a tractor (though it definitely would have come in handy on some days); we 
   have hand tools and a small tiller.
· We don’t chop our own wood for heat (we buy it locally as needed), though we do use our 
   wood stove on very cold days. We also don’t use any other alternative energy; we are on 
   the grid.
· We don’t raise animals for food, but try to buy local organic meats when possible.

I must admit that I am impressed by our friends here who do it all and learned these skills at a young age. For those of us who did not grow up learning the ways of country living, there is still much we can do to enjoy certain aspects of living in harmony with our land and the rhythm of the seasons. Backyard and deck gardening is the way I have chosen to do so…organic gardening allows me to provide supplemental food for my family and I can rest assured that no harmful chemicals were used – only natural fertilizers, etc. No matter where you live, if you have access to some sun and water, you can grow food.

Planning Annual Crops
One of my favorite aspects of gardening is deciding what to grow and where to plant everything. Part of the planning includes looking at a journal from the previous year noting what thrived and what did not and probable causes for crop success or failure. This year I created a spreadsheet to enter garden information.



I included everything I could think of and am tracking the plant performance from germination to harvest to seed-saving. I am hoping to learn what does consistently well in not only our growing zone, but in the microclimate and soil in our garden location.

We love to grow tomatoes as most southerners do, and cucumbers are probably second on our list. We used to grow corn, but have stopped doing so after learning that much of the seed in the USA has been contaminated by toxic GMO crops. 

This year, I decided to try growing more international produce and plan to save seeds from the heirloom varieties. I browsed the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog and found several interesting and unusual varieties of melons, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, and cucumbers.


 

Before ordering garlic bulbs, I was advised by my high school buddy and owner of Gambino Garlic Growers that the softneck variety grows best in the south (he was right, they grew beautifully!).


 

Other annual food crops we planted this year were onions, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Swiss chard, herbs, carrots, celery, potatoes, sweet peppers, and radishes. We are trying to stick with food items we really like to eat. No one in my family will eat squash, beets, soybeans, okra, or lima beans, so we save space, time, and money and don’t plant them.
 


So far, we have had a good harvest this summer. I will share more details about our annual crops and will also discuss perennial crops in the permaculture landscape in Part 2 of this series. Until then, blessings on your garden! ~Karen