Hello and welcome to The Compost Bin. I'm Compostwoman and I live with my family in rural Herefordshire. We have nearly four acres of garden and woodland, all managed organically and to Permaculture principles, which we share with Chickens, Cats and assorted wildlife. We also grow a lot of our own food, run courses in all sorts of things and make a lot of compost!

I am a Master Composter and have spent more than a decade as a volunteer Community Compost adviser with Garden Organic and my local Council.
I'm a self employed Environmental Educator so I run workshops and events where I talk about compost, veg growing, chicken keeping, cooking, preserving and sustainable living. I also run crafts workshops and Forest School/outdoor play sessions in our wood.

We try to live a more self sufficient lifestyle here, as best we can, while still having a comfortable life and lots of fun.


To learn more about us click on the About Compostwoman tab and remember to click on the photos to make them full size!


Friday, 22 August 2008

Using up the Freecycle cardboard

I went and got a load of cardboard sheets from a lady who advertised them on Freecycle Hereford the other day and I had them earmarked for putting around the squash bed under all the pumpkin runners.



But first I had to find the bed under all the weeds and grass!










After scything and chopping down the long grass and weeds using shears, Compostman carefully lifted up the pumpkins and runners whilst I shoved the cardboard underneath.

I then raised all the pumpkins up on upside down plant pots to keep them off the ground as they grew and ripened.
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2 comments:

  1. Unknown28 August 2008 at 18:34

    I expect you know all about this use of cardboard:

    I use my cardboard (have an arrangement with a local farm store that has skiploads of cardboard) to smother weeds while I dig two of my allotments out of rough pastureland.

    I lay wet newspaper on strimmed grass/weeds, and cardboard on top of that. Much later I scrape it off and dig out the ground.

    Or I leave it there and tip sackloads of compost and earth and anything else I can get hold of on top of it (lasagna beds) and plant into the mixture.

    I've got six long thin beds by these methods (I am comparing them - they are 1 metre by 7) and all of them are productive. The paths between them are also made by newspaper and cardboard covered with free woodchips, and would be better if badgers had not dug them up during a dry period last year, in search of worms.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Compostwoman28 August 2008 at 18:48

    Hi there!

    Yes...that is what we do as well...some beds we cover with geotextile sheet for the winter, some beds we cover with cardboard sheet and any new areas get the cardboard treatment!

    ReplyDelete

Hello! Thank you for reading my blog and for commenting. I try to reply as quickly as I can and I really appreciate your interest in my life and doings here in The Compost Bin.

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