Good morning all my favorite blog readers! Well I am done playing for now with my new toy and need to get a little work done while it is sunny here in the great NW. First on my agenda is a new compost pile. As the story goes with the three pigs, one uses bricks (I haven't tried this one), one uses wood (I have tried this), while yet another uses straw, and since I'm not trying to keep out the big bad wolf ...I am going with straw bales, which after many different systems is still my favorite. It keeps the compost warm and cozy, it is cheap to build, and after 2 to 3 seasons you have partially decomposed straw to either use as mulch or as starter for you next pile.
First decide where your straw bale bin will go. It should be a relatively flat area that is not low lying as to collect too much water. I'm going to put mine up against the garden fence, near both the raised beds and the chicken house.
Lay out your first layer of bales, with help from lovely assistant is always nice!
I am shooting for an interior of about 4 feet square. You can go up to 6 feet square but if you get much bigger it is much harder for air to reach the center. Smaller than 4 feet and you don't have enough material to get it heated up properly. I don't like huge piles for I'm making one a more manageable size for me.
We interrupt this program for a special addition of 'Super Straw Surfer'...
When last we saw our fearless surfer she was trying to ride the big bale...
Riding this killer bale proved to be a challenge for the super surfer...
She threw off her rain slicker to reveal her super power love shirt...
thinking this would surely help he in her quest for domination over the bale...
But alas this bale proved too much for our hero...
Stayed tuned to see if Super Straw Surfer can tame the west's wildest straw bale or whether she will be foiled again!
Now where were we? Oh yeah we have our bales laid out and it is time to start filling
One of the ingredients I have is partially composted chicken manure
In this layering method I am going for a layer of brown and dried material followed by a more green moist material...if you have good garden soil or compost it is also good to add as a thin layer between the brown and green layers.
Here is the basic layering of this particular pile...straw, manure, straw, kitchen scraps, straw, manure, straw...etc.
Here I'm adding the kitchen scraps from the compost bin that has proved to be just too small for my needs...
Here it is for today, I'm going to water it well, cover it with a tarp to keep it warm.
Tomorrow I will add another layer of bales and finish the pile in the exact way I did today. In a month or so I will add another bin adjoining to this one...I'll use grass clipping, straw and...camel poo in the next one, what fun!
