I Love My Compost Pile

Love is a strong term.  But I do.  Love my compost pile that is.  Piles, really.  I always have two.  The one with lovely black compost made from last years' leavings.  And the one I am currently throwing things in.  One I play in.  The other I throw things in.

And I love to throw things in it.  Mostly weeds.  A little straw from the chicken coop.  Chicken poo. Clayish clods too hard to use in my flowerpots.  I  am just now becoming a convert to adding kitchen scraps.  Leaves.  Last years potted plants. Old jack-o-lanterns.

A friend who is a Master Gardener told me a green to brown ratio I needed for the compost pile, but I didn't pay attention (actually I have had many MG friends and not much has rubbed off on me.)

I have had compost piles for a couple of decades now.  They would embarrass any "real" gardener.  I employ the cold or passive method of composting.  Very passive. It is a true miracle that the process works at all. During January - December throw everything organic in a compost heap.  NO stirring, chopping, tossing, fertilizing, covering or watering.  And the next year remove the top layer of uncomposted compost (toss over to the now-empty side) and admire the heap of gorgeous compost that I literally did very little to deserve.

Experts advise to have compost piles in the sun. My compost piles have always been in the shade.  Because I like to put my little gardening stool in front of the miraculous heap of black compost to fill flowerpots in the cool of the shade.  That is the play part.  It is so relaxing.

Sometimes I find small treasures, like the little goose pictured above which I found in the compost pile at our previous house.

Sometimes I find new friends -- like this spotted tail salamander like I just saw in my compost pile last weekend (but this isn't his actual photo because my camera battery was dead.)