"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves"Over the past few weeks we have been dedicated to amending our compost pile and creating a system that makes sense to all who venture through our garden! We want you to have the freshest, most nutritious compost to feed to your garden plots. So, we think we have finally figured out a system that will work for us, will make sense to the children that frequent the garden, and of course is sensible to the gardeners that make this space so beautiful! We have the three bin system which means that each bin has an integral part in the whole process! (this is where the signs come in handy:). Sometimes the pile needs to be "stewing" and not disturbed (
"SLEEPING") sometimes the pile can use some delicious garden and food scraps (
"FEED ME"), and sometimes the pile has been completely crunched and munched by the decomposers and is ready to harvest (
"USE ME"). Hopefully this will make things simpler for us, for you, and the decomposers scurrying to find the freshest organic material! We will continue to turn the compost piles and make sure that things are steaming for you. We hope this system will work out! Please let us know if you have any suggestions or questions about this whole composting thing!
Harvesting compost!! You can use the screen to sift through the "USE ME" pile into a bucket. Whatever does not fit through the screen you can throw into the "FEED ME" pile to continue to decompose. Just look for the "USE ME" sign to find the pile that is ready to harvest and give back to the earth!
The lovely three bin system. We try our best to turn the piles at least once a week to expedite this process. The more you turn the pile the faster the process of decomposition!
COMPOSTING TIPS:
We would LOVE to have:healthy vegetable or flower plants pulled from the garden, vegetable or fruit scraps, crushed eggshells, fresh or partly rotted straw (not too much--very rich in carbon and could throw off the activity), fallen tree leaves (avoid the pine needles--very acidic), coffee grounds, tea bags/leaves, and other plant based products. If you are uncertain feel free to ask us!
Here are a few things that we should all avoid putting into the piles because they may attract some pesky rodents that are not always the most welcome:meat bones, an abundance of newspaper (some is OK--but NO paper with colored ink!), dairy products, rocks, glass, plastic, or metal, fats or cereal products (attract those lovely rodents)and manure from most creatures of this planet. I am sure there are a few other things we missed. Once again, if you are uncertain just ask us and we will answer your questions the best we can!!
*Be sure to chop large materials so they will decay faster!
*Add a little water to the "FEED ME" pile if it looks dried out!
"Anyone can have dirt. Gardener's have soil"
I would like you to meet our very special garden mascot, Miss Rhubarb, standing amongst the weeds! 
