Do you have a compost pile in your yard? This is one of the easiest ways to reduce the costs of gardening and to garden naturally.

Brandy:

Do you have a compost pile in your yard?

 

I do not use a compost pile, per se - - I dig a 10 inch wide trench in the garden & the compostables are dumped there until it is full.  Cover with a 2" layer of soil from the garden, & dig another trench.  Composting in place has worked better for me than having a pile.  I move in one direction across the garden, so the entire garden is used in rotation.

Having a couple of trenches ready in the fall allows me to dump the kitchen compostables even in winter. The freeze/thaw cycle helps break them down and when the ground thaws, I cover the trench.

We have several compost bins, although most of them are homemade bins -- they're just plastic lidded garbage bins that we drilled holes in the bottom and sides.  They get stirred about once a week or less.

 I have a bin and also use trenches dug in the garden.  In the winter months the trenches take too long and it ends up being a buffet for opossums and racoons, neither of which need to be anywhere near my chickens.

worm bins and a compost heap in the back yard.

Three plastic compost bins in the back of the yard, between a shed and a privacy fence..  Two of these were freebies.  Also, extra leaves get piled back there if they don't fit in the bins.  We also chop up leaves in the fall and use to cover the garden beds.  Two of the bins have been taking way too long to break down, so I think I need to pull the stuff out, and maybe layer with some dirt to help things move along.  I am not very good about making sure the layers are correct proportions, or that it gets properly aerated.  One bin always turns out fine though - but that's the one closest to the house that gets the most kitchen scraps, which might be why.

No composting at my house, we don't have the room for a compost pile. I do save the coffee grounds and put them around my azalea and camilla bushes in the front yard.

zohnerfarms:

- I dig a 10 inch wide trench in the garden & the compostables are dumped there until it is full

I like that idea. I think it might go well with the raised or square foot gardening plans.

Before we had chickens we had a compost pile inside of 4 wooden pallets nailed together. it got turned about once a week or so. Now the chickens get everything.

Our barn cleanings go into a large heap at the side of the garden to compost over the winter...you can see the heat waves radiating from in it during the cold months. in the spring its spread and tilled in.

DH made a bin from pallets, I like it the best, I have a wire one that we made and a plastic one that we bought. I dont like the plastic one, it takes a lot longer to make compost. The animals would push it over even when we staked it to the ground. Composting really reduces the trash that is thrown out, use less trash bags. Saves money and helps the garden. Babs