What I do use is compost. Before every bed is planted my clay soil is thoroughly amended with compost to a depth of at least of twelve inches. After planting the prepared bed, compost, fine aged hardwood mulch, or chopped leaves are added as mulch to decompose. Each fall the mulch is renewed. All of which requires large amounts of compost. While we can not make all the compost we need around here, we do not let anything go to waste; but we do let it rot.
 Kitchen compost container |
The compost container closest to the house collects all the kitchen
waste, with the exception of meat products or anything that has
been cooked. Occasionally a houseplant on its way to plant heaven
gets included. Since kitchen refuse tends to contain quite a bit
of moisture, we sometimes throw in some dry matter such as used
potting medium. The container is kept out of sight, but close,
so it will be used.
Our kitchen compost container is a 30-gallon plastic trash can we purchased on sale for less than $10.00. We also purchased a short length of bungee cord with a hook on both ends. I took a drill with a half-inch bit and made rows of holes up the side of the can for ventilation. Several holes were drilled in the bottom of the can for drainage. The bungee cord goes under the lid handle and hooks into each can handle to secure the lid against curious and or hungry critters. The cord also keeps the lid on while the can is laid on its side and rolled a bit to mix the contents. |
 Portable bin |
Refuse from the garden gets recycled through a compost bin to be reintroduced as next year's nutrients. With the exception of peony foliage, or obviously diseased plants, everything from the garden goes into the bin which is hidden in back of the garden. Again, the bin has been kept simple, inexpensive and portable so it will be used. A ten-foot length of hardware cloth 36" high and four 36" electric fence rods were purchased. The two ends of the hardware cloth were joined with wire to form a circle about 3 feet across. The circle of hardware cloth was placed where it would be convenient to the garden. Four posts were, more or less, placed equidistant around the inside and driven into the ground for support of the sides.
The portable bin can also be placed where the next bed is to be dug. Just pull the posts after all has composted, move the hardware cloth, spread and dig into the soil.
 Permanent bin |
Located behind the storage shed is a somewhat larger, more permanent compost bin. We talked a local hardware store into giving us 5 wooden pallets about 42" x 48". While there, we purchased ten 6' steel fence posts, 24 feet of 36" hardware cloth, eight inside corner braces and a few fence staples.
Each pallet stands on end and two fence posts are inserted per pallet, then driven into the ground at either end of the pallet. Three pallets face forward while two form the backs, producing two separate bins connected to each other. Two inside corner braces were nailed into place at each junction of the pallets. Hardware cloth was nailed to the inside of each bin with fence staples. Additional bins can be added at any time simply by locating 2 more pallets, four fence posts and hardware cloth.
These are the bins that receive the bulk of the yard refuse, hedge clippings, and the results of general clean up projects around the property.