Heeeyho Readers! More updates from our little ranch!
Alright! It's time for a new compost box. Our current (now destroyed) compost was a decrepit wardrobe turned into a box; a solution that kinda worked. For an year, at least. The side walls rotted and collapsed and good ole wardrobe ended its life-cycle. Despite us wanting to build a fancy compost tumbler, we'll have to content with another box (short on time). The next step is starting a new compost because we used ours to fertilize the fruit trees.
Making a mess
I found a few wood planks from our pile of recycled materials to build the new box. Baron, as always, inspected the work. A handful of nails and hammerings later... voila! A compost box. I find this method easier than digging a whole into the ground, and it gets rid of old wooden planks that will be recycled anyways. Win, win.
The matter eater
The bottom is open because, from the previous experience, we discovered earthworms come up from the ground into the compost. I saw more evidence of that after finding their tunnels below the old compost box (same spot as the new one). Sexy little earth-spaghettis are welcomed back.
We didn't have any greens (grass clippings, vegetable and fruit scraps, chicken poop, etc) to begin our new compost, so I assassinated some banana leaves for the cause. Vive la révolution! {the matter transformation revolution}. Banana leaves take a heck ton of time to decompose, but are rich in various minerals.
Banana leaves
Weak start, I thought. To complement the new compost I had the brilliant idea of adding dry cow poop on top, which soon proved rather stinky. For that reason, I rushed into the bushes to collect the browns to cover that messy layer.
cow poop
dry leaves
I'm not a compost nerd (yet), but already discovered about the greens and brows, which is a good start for someone who used to throw stuff in there and hope for the best. Here's what I found out.
Greens are materials that are rich in nitrogen or protein. They are also the items that tend to heat a compost pile up because they help the microorganisms in the pile grow and multiply quickly.
Browns are carbon or carbohydrate-rich materials. The main job of browns in a compost pile is to be food sources for all of the lovely soil-dwelling organisms that will work with the microbes to break down the contents of your compost pile. Also, brown materials help to add bulk and help allow air to filter through the pile. — Source: The Spruce
Essentially, I created a layer of greens and a layer of brows (50/50), plus the kitchen waste that's added periodically.
Fast forward a week
Last weekend Dad and I cleaned an area resulting in another pile of greens (grass clippings). This next layer of greens went on top of the previous layer of browns. Lastly, I collected another load of dry leaves to cover up.
greens
browns
Now the matter eater is full to capacity. This new box is shallower than the previous one, although this much compost will serve for our purposes. In the end, the possible up-coming fertilizer crisis that may arrive after the Ukrainian war might not affect our little property. We might also need to cover the compost box as temperatures drop around here — it's already hitting 10°C.
The final result should look like in the picture below.
final compost
I hope you've enjoyed this process and that it inspires you to start your own sustainable project.
Until next time.
Peace.
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Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.