To compost or not to compost

I have a small garden patch (about 5×15) between my cottage and the one in front of me, to which I have added compost twice a year for 3 years. Initially, the ground was rock hard and crusty. I chipped away at it with a shovel for about a week. A jack hammer would have been easier. I like having the satisfaction of knowing what effort I put in, and seeing the results. The first year the plants were all very shabby and scraggly, but each year they have become more prolific. These are scarlet pole beans that eventually climbed way up into an adjacent tree!

This year my neighbor and I planted some beans in a bed in which we had not added compost. The results are in!

This

is

as

good

as

it

got!

Stackable Wood Bin

I constructed my compost bin a couple of years ago. My neighbors are invited to contribute to it. I chose this design to make turning the pile easier. To turn the pile, you remove the top tier and place it on the ground next to the bin, scoop some of the compost into the new pile, add another tier, and so on, until you have turned the whole thing. I’m happy to be taking my trash out to the dumpster less frequently, and to be adding back valuable nutrients to the soil, and then receiving those nutrients back in the food I’ve grown. If anyone is wishing they too could make one of these, well the plans for this design and others are here at Digitalseed.