It Works!

Despite the long winter, my compost bin project has proved to be successful. It has provided several wheelbarrow loads of well rotted compost for this spring's flower bed top dressing.

The neighbours generous contributions of leaves, last falls' garden waste and winters' household fruit and vegetable trimmings, has produced a good quantity of rich dark rotted organic material. Perfect for spring and summer soil amending.

Blog post and photo by member Ken MacDonald. See more member photographs in our gallery.

Getting by with a little help from a friend.

Here is a project I just finished for a friend. She was sad because health issues made it impossible for her to bend down to garden. I asked if I could design a raised bed garden for her. She was quite delighted. The two of us strongly believe in recycling, so I began with a lavender bath tub my son was only too glad to get rid of. I built a frame with 2x6's to support the weight and clad the outside with cedar siding from my grandmother's abandoned home. It matched her house quite well. We filled it with a combination of top soil, 20 year old manure, peat moss and perlite. She went out and as she put it "got carried away" with filling it with tomatoes, eggplants and oregano (she is Italian after all). It is waist height so she doesn't have to bend at all.

Blog post and photo by member Alan Mlazgar. See more member photographs in our gallery.

Compost Project

Just finished this project. Serious gardeners may appreciate this one. Lengthy but worth the time and the a few extra $'s for the cedar fence boards. This six foot compost bin has been a hit with the neighbours. (six feet was the length of the fence boards) and the width 36 inches (that was half the length of the fence board).
I used some 4 X 4 timbers (scraps) as a base and 2 X 4's for corners. I used deck brackets and stainless steel screws to mount the back and end boards "angled in" for proper ventilation. The top has two lids made from some 1 X 6 fence boards ripped down to 3". The covers are hinged with stainless steel hinges. The removable fronts were made  with the remaining cedar (you can probably figure out their dimensions).

As I said the neighbours like it, certainly a lot more efficient and  attractive than my chicken wire cage they said was filled with garbage. Now they are bringing their vegetable scraps and leaves etc., knowing that if they put some in they can take some out (compost). Well that's the concept, but I know who will be turning it and keeping it working. Does the story of the "little red hen" come to mind? A worthwhile project that only a gardener can appreciate. *(please note: there are no drawings available)

Originally published in The Planterbox, October 2012 issue. Article contribution by member Ken MacDonald.