Composting
If you don't already have a compost pile, now is a good time to begin. In the fall you can gather up spent plants, fallen leaves, manure, grass clippings, food scraps and any other organic material to compost.
What do I put my compost in? There are many options. If you have access to pallets, they can be nailed or wired together to make a quick and easy pile. If critters are likely to get into your compost, you can use more pallets or wire fencing to go across the front.
Do you have a bonanza of old tires? Pile them up to form one to three bays. You can put the mushiest, stinkiest, most appealing to animals raw compost into tires. This is then immediately covered by hay, straw, saw dust or other brown material. When a stack of tires is full, it becomes a perfect place to plant anything from the squash/pumpkin family.
Maybe you have a woods full of saplings that are too crowded together. You can thin the grove and build a compost bin. Build up the bins by stacking the poles. This gives excellent air flow to the pile. If you would like a really classy pile, put rebar poles in the four corners, drill holes in the poles, and stack neatly.
Then there are the in-garden compost piles. Use sturdy, welded wire fencing by forming it into a cylinder. Use pliers to wrap the cut ends around the smooth ends. You can then plant tomatoes or squash, or whatever, in a circle around the bins.
Do you have an easy to use rototiller? This can be used to till plants directly in the garden in the fall. Corn stalks and cabbage family stalks can be difficult to till in. If you don't want to have a structure for compost, the windrow compost pile is another excellent method. Materials to be composted are put in a long row. These can be layered carefully, or mixed by the rototiller going down the top of the row.
Hmm.You live in town and don't want your neighbors complaining about your compost pile? You can make a revolving drum composter, purchase a model that contains the compost, or start an indoor worm box.
