winter garden tasks
Jan. 22nd, 2012 09:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ljgeoffFor anyone who's wondering and missed the post, I'm going to be putting in a vegetable garden back behind an abandoned house across the street from my trailer court. I talked to the neighbor of the house -- he's trying to buy the place, and doesn't mind at all if I garden there this summer since he won't be able to get it until December 2012.
There's a big pile of refuse behind the abandoned house, mostly broken up pieces of plywood, busted up furniture and plastic. Included in that is several 1X6 fencing boards. I'm going to use the boards to construct my compost bins and the raised beds. Or I might use old shipping pallets for the compost bins, since I'm going to need at least 36 boards for the raised beds.
So this month, I'm going to gather up all the supplies -- boards, pallets and nails -- to build the raised beds and compost bins. I'll start with the bins, and hopefully begin filling them right away with manure from the horses around here (there's at least 5 homes within a 2 mile radius that have 2-3 horses.)
Today, I'm having lunch with one of my ex-clients, and later I'm going in to sell my plasma. I'm also minding a couple of loads in the washer and dryer, and I've got to empty the dishwasher and fill it again. Oh, and I'm keeping a ear out for Torrin; she's sleeping on my bed so her mom and dad can get some heavy sleep.
A Lazy Man's Guide to Compost (goes to squidoo)
"Here is what I used:
-- 8 Steel Posts
-- 4 Pallets/Skids
You could get by without using steel posts. The 4 skids could be wired together at the top and bottom of each skid for stability.
I drove the steel posts into the ground and slid the skids onto them (2 posts to a skid). To get at the material in the compost bin I simply lift the front skid off of the posts.
I got the skids and steel posts at no cost. You can get skids pretty easy. Just stop at a local business that has things shipped to them on skids and ask for a couple.
The steel posts are not as easy to come by for no cost. You could stop by a farm and see if they have any old rusty ones laying around that you could take. Otherwise you could buy them at a home improvement or farm supply store.
The skids I used are not solid wood. You can see in the picture that there is ample room for air to flow through, yet still hold in the organic material.
You could also use a 5th skid for a floor and create additional air flow from the bottom. I haven't tried that as I am in no real hurry to make my compost."
There's a big pile of refuse behind the abandoned house, mostly broken up pieces of plywood, busted up furniture and plastic. Included in that is several 1X6 fencing boards. I'm going to use the boards to construct my compost bins and the raised beds. Or I might use old shipping pallets for the compost bins, since I'm going to need at least 36 boards for the raised beds.
So this month, I'm going to gather up all the supplies -- boards, pallets and nails -- to build the raised beds and compost bins. I'll start with the bins, and hopefully begin filling them right away with manure from the horses around here (there's at least 5 homes within a 2 mile radius that have 2-3 horses.)
Today, I'm having lunch with one of my ex-clients, and later I'm going in to sell my plasma. I'm also minding a couple of loads in the washer and dryer, and I've got to empty the dishwasher and fill it again. Oh, and I'm keeping a ear out for Torrin; she's sleeping on my bed so her mom and dad can get some heavy sleep.
A Lazy Man's Guide to Compost (goes to squidoo)
"Here is what I used:
-- 8 Steel Posts
-- 4 Pallets/Skids
You could get by without using steel posts. The 4 skids could be wired together at the top and bottom of each skid for stability.
I drove the steel posts into the ground and slid the skids onto them (2 posts to a skid). To get at the material in the compost bin I simply lift the front skid off of the posts.
I got the skids and steel posts at no cost. You can get skids pretty easy. Just stop at a local business that has things shipped to them on skids and ask for a couple.
The steel posts are not as easy to come by for no cost. You could stop by a farm and see if they have any old rusty ones laying around that you could take. Otherwise you could buy them at a home improvement or farm supply store.
The skids I used are not solid wood. You can see in the picture that there is ample room for air to flow through, yet still hold in the organic material.
You could also use a 5th skid for a floor and create additional air flow from the bottom. I haven't tried that as I am in no real hurry to make my compost."