Tuesday, October 21, 2008

What's That in the Compost Pile?

Back in the spring, Craig doubled the size of our compost bin. Now we have a 'new' side and an 'old' side - plus a few plastic compost bins. He moved what used to be in the original bin into the new bin and we started adding new material to the 'old' bin. Confused yet? It gets better. Shortly thereafter, tomato plants started sprouting in the new bin. Knowing we didn't need that many plants but not getting around to the chore of thinning them out, we ended up with a tomato plant explosion in the compost heap! It has been a great attraction for everyone who visits and makes for good conversation. We are also reaping the benefits of a variety of tomato types - beefsteak, cluster, cherry etc.

The fruit has been picked to ripen on its own and the plants have been pulled.
A couple of years ago a cantaloupe plant grew from the compost pile and produced fruit! Not the sweetest cantaloupes nonetheless it was pretty amazing. Any unexpected plant life growing in your compost?

We compost yard waste, grass clippings and kitchen scraps which includes vegatable waste, coffee grinds and egg shells. The compost gets turned once in a while and voila, twice a year we have what I like to call 'black gold'. No special additives to make it work, just natural compost.

If you are interested in composting but need some education, check out the Composting Council of Canada for some good information and helpful tips.

2 comments:

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Shirley .. I can't bring myself to give up any space for the compost thing (yes .. I am wracked ? with guilt about that one) BUT .. all my garden waste goes to the city compost recycle .. so I know I am doing some good for everyone in Kingston ? LOL
But that is too funny .. you have tons of plants that want to fruit ? for you no matter where they are ? LOL

Anonymous said...

We compost the way you do. Yes, we've had volunteers, but we usually pull them out. I think it's neat that you got tomatoes from your compost pile.