Compost

One of the first jobs on our enormous to do list is to build a compost station. We have already spent a month at the farm but no compost station had been built.

I was getting frustrated as it felt like “nothing was being done” but I’ve realised that the first month has been a reflective month. We have taken lots of walks around the space and worked out what needs to be done and we have been watching spring unfold. We have so many plans and ideas between us that actually living here has felt a little overwhelming at times, partly because we can’t simply unpack all the boxes and get on with it. A lot of what needs to be done here is not just creating our permaculture farm, but also our living space. Therefore we are still living out of boxes and we don’t have a living room or big enough kitchen. These things will all be sorted over time but there are times when I wish we could wave a magic wand and get people in to just do the work so we can concentrate on the farm. But that is not possible. So we have to break everything down into manageable chunks of what we can do on our own and what we can afford.

We had an idea of where the compost system was going to be placed. We both agreed it needs to be close to the planned vegetable beds yet had to be at the bottom of of the patches otherwise it would be south facing - which we agreed would be too hot given our long hot summers. At the end of the patches would also back onto the pool area which we thought might not be particularly pretty or pleasant smelling. We looked around and came up with another place. Again next to the pool but in a different direction and there was a well established bramble barrier.

So we set to removing the brambles which were in this spot as we were concerned for the growth so close to and in fact underneath the planned compost station. Now these brambles have been left to their own devices for at least 7 years as this is how long the previous owner had lived here. We know this because when we cleared some of the brambles, there were some hidden metal posts which she used to fence her horses in. The brambles are a whole different blog post, but they are a massive job and we have only cleared by hand a “small” amount, compared to how many there are, just to make way for the compost system. However on starting the brambles we have changed our positioning of the compost altogether. The brambles are so dense so to dig the roots out will be a long arduous job. It may also be best dealt with by our pigs - when we get them,, but at the very least we need to use heavy duty machinery which we can’t use until after nesting season has finished, so it’s a job for the future.

So we took another walk to find another location. Success! We have a sheltered location, west facing, so only the evening sun will reach it, but as it’s surrounded by trees it will be beautifully shaded. It’s a short wheelbarrow route to the veg beds but I’m delighted with this spot. We also agreed that we need not worry too much about building the entire system. It was more important to just start.

So start we have. It’s rather big. My husband is confident this is ok as we have so much content to just stack it and fill it, which I agree we do.

We have been collecting pallets from friends that have moved house and friends parents that were just about to throw them out....they gave us peculiar looks at the level of excitement we had over pallets. In total we collected 24 which caused us a few logistical problems ourselves when moving house, but we eventually brought them all here and they are sitting in waiting for our projects.

Starting to put the pallets together in our chosen spot

This compost station is 2 pallets wide by 1 pallet, so 5 pallets in total as one is double length which have chosen to use as our “door”. We have also lined the inside with cardboard to keep in the heat to assist in the compost process.

Lined with cardboard

We have opted for a 50/50 system. 50% green (fresh) to 50% brown (dried). The jury is out on this but I figure at least I can’t get the balance wrong. With a 2/3rds to 1/3rd system you can bet I’d get it the wrong way round. My guru Charles Dowding uses the 50/50 method and I figure he knows a thing or two about composting. Perhaps over time we can compare the two systems to see which we prefer but for now we are making a straight 50/50 system.

It’s a family affair….

Phil bought an impact driver on the advice of our teenage son. It was a smart move. Essentially this is a bit of kit which drives screws in or out of wood at super speed. Freddie loves it as he gets to pretend he’s part of an F1 team, Phil loves it as it’s super quick to screw the wood together - and he also gets to pretend he’s part of an F1 team! How did we manage for so long without one of these things!

So now it’s built and all we have to do is fill it.

Our system so far has been a layering system. We started with about a 10cm deep level of ripped up cardboard boxes - these boxes have followed us around for many years so this is a delight and dried leaves (brown) which were just surrounding us at the compost site.

The next layer was some grass cuttings from a week ago, mixed with some horse poo left, with permission, from the previous owner, mixed with some fruit and vegetable waste from the kitchen (green).

The next layer, making sure all layers are as equal as possible, was wood chips left by the previous owner (brown), followed by freshly mowed grass cuttings (green).

Wood chips….

Again some more old leaves, followed by more grass cuttings - I think you may be starting to get the idea. The last batch of grass cuttings was pretty big, so we need to level that with brown. At this stage the compost pile is approximately half full.

The layers are starting to build up.

It is a process to fill it as it is enormous. It’s not that we don’t have the content, it’s more that it’s just a big job!

As we need compost as soon as possible I will be turning this compost regularly to speed up the process. I shall update you next week after the first turn.