The Compost Bin

What's in my compost pile today? Well it's the middle of August, so that means that apples are dropping like raindrops onto my lawn. Unfortunately they are pest infested apples so there's no eating but as I've mentioned before, they're great in the compost pile. I like to flip them into the compost bin with my hockey stick and make a game out of it. By the end of the summer, I make Wayne Gretzky seem like an underachiever.

August also means that I've got plenty of other greens like grass clippings. I have a mulching mower but every once in a while I'll pull out the mulcher thingy that keeps the grass from going into the bag and I actually let the clippings go in bag. Why do I do this? Because in the fall I have nothing but leaves so I like to stockpile my greens while I have them. And I usually have enough apples and grass to get my pile cooking a little bit before the winter temperatures roll in.

And the vegetable garden is mostly jungle-like this time of year, so I like to trim some stuff back to keep the paths between my raised beds walkable. I also pull some plants out completely to make room for fall plantings. And they all go into the compost bin.

So even when I'm not composting exotic ingredients like beer, 75 pound pumpkins or champagne, there's still a lot of activity in my compost bin.