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!
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Happy New Year!
I am hoping for better weather so more stuff grows without blight in 2009...PLEASE Weather Gods smile on us?
Also that we have better luck health wise here at Compost Mansions, as 2008 seemed to be a particularly bad year for us with operations, incapacitations and long lasting infections...
and on a personal note PLEASE can I have some good wishes?
I will spend the next 4 weeks physically locked on to my computer finishing up my Forest School Leaders portfolio. It has to be in with my tutor by the end of Jan! I am well on the way with nearly all the dissertation parts and have lots of evidence gathered to put in from my school sessions and practical days done in April and May 2008. BUT I have to put it all together in a coherent, orderly manner according to the instructions. I had done quite a lot but December seems to have interrupted the process ;-))
Somehow I don't think you will be getting many updates on here during Jan (apart from what I have already saved and scheduled...!) and I will be resisting the temptation to wander around the Blogosphere too much.....
anyway HAPPY NEW YEAR to one and all!
Monday, 29 December 2008
Leaf Mould
This pile was gathered up on 25th November.
Why do I want to make leaf mould? Why do I not just leave the leaves where they fall?
Well, I DO leave the leaves in the wood where they can compost down as nature intended, and provide a wonderful home for all manner of insects, worms and small mammals as well as a rich and varied eco system of fungi and microbes.
BUT the leaves which fall on the grass will simply exclude light and damage the grass AND I want them to make a valuable resource in an organic gardener's repertoire of tricks, a fine, brown compost-like material, which can be used in the same way as compost.
It is very easy to make leaf mould. The best method is to gather large quantities of leaves and put them into a container and leave them to rot down. A wire enclosure or a black sack (with some holes for aeration) will work fine for this. It is best to collect the leaves when they are wet as this will help them to break down quicker, if they are dry, water them a little as you place them into the container.
Please note I use compost bins simply because I have some available!
Compostman squashing down the leaves so as to get more in the bin!
All that big pile of leaves gone into 2 compost bins.
Covered over and ready to leave for a year or so. These two bins will produce a little less than 1 bin of finished leaf mould compost
Leaves will take a year or two to decompose into a usable form. To speed up this process I mix the leaves with some grass cuttings (another reason to use the ride on mower!), this gives me a much richer leaf mould in about a year , due to the leaves being chopped up a bit and the grass clippings adding heat to the composting process.
The finished leaf mould can be used in a variety of ways, it can be used as a weed-suppressing and moisture-retaining mulch, dug in, spread over a lawn, sprinkled over seeds or for making potting compost. It will improve the physical structure of the soil and make it more fertile. Leaf mould is incredibly rich and nutritious and I have found is very good for using in an onion or shallot bed.
Digging out the 2008 leaf mould to use in a shallot bed. This has the happy advantage of freeing up compost bins to make this year's leaf mould.
The finished, planted up shallot and garlic bed.
So, next time you see some leaves in the Autumn, if you don't make leaf mould, have a go! Its a free way to get some wonderful organic matter into your soil and it is another step along the path to a more self sufficient/self reliant way of life.
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Meet Goldie the amazing escapologist hen!
We basically have nearly doubled the area they had previously, by adding another length of electric fence on the end of the original one.
We have also cleared out some branches from under the Juniper tree so the chickens have somewhere to hide and dust bathe.
All this is chicken paradise, but is Goldie the amazing Rhode Rock flying hen happy? Is she heck!
She KEEPS on flying over the wire, DESPITE having had her wing feathers clipped
(so in theory she shouldn't be able to fly at all any more...)
This then causes another problem; what to do when she needs to lay an egg? She has wanders around the entrance way back into the Orchard but won't go back in and also won't let me catch her and put her back ( and if she DOES, she straightaway "flies the coop" again...
She has laid in the shrubs somewhere in the garden at least twice this week that I know of, but its rather hard to find an egg in our garden!
As you can see, the other hens were VERY interested!
Finally, so was Goldie....lets hope she lays in there if the need arises!
Friday, 26 December 2008
A Christmas Day at Compost Mansions.
A couple of pictures from our Christmas Day!
We were going to have organic, local, ribs of beef for lunch, BUT Compostgirl lost a tooth and swallowed it on Christmas Eve (!) so wasn't up to chewing much....
so........ we switched to Plan "B" which was local organic chicken and all the trimmings........stuffing, pigs in blankets ( sausages wrapped in streaky bacon), sprouts and chestnuts, roasted spuds and parsnips, broccoli and carrots......all home grown of course!
and then sitting in front of the fire, opening and enjoying presents, and then later watching Dr Who and Wallace and Grommet.
Presents.....I had some splendid chocolate and a wonderful book from Compostman AND he is going to make me a new and splendiferous hen run to go on Cluckingham Palace so I can re jig the various pens and houses to make my darling chickens happier! I also had a DVD of "Tosca" which contains Bryn Terfel as "Scarpia" which I can watch and drool over ....
Compostgirl had things she seems very pleased with ( various books, games and and a "Dr Who" sonic screwdriver...which is driving US mad but SHE seems to love it...as she is a total "Dr Who" fan....)
Compostman had some Cd's he wanted, some edible stuff he likes and a DVD he wanted as well as a coat from me he said was what he would like.
so...modest but wanted gifts here all round, and everybody is happy!
Apart from tending to the animals in the morning and evening we did NOTHING outside except go for a walk and get some wood in for the wood burner..we did NO WORK AT ALL...! so we had a DAY OFF! This makes me realise how rare it is for us to actually have a complete day off!
It was lovely.....we drank TOO much stuff, ate TOO much stuff and watched TV when WE wanted to watch it and then in between times switched it off and played games or listened to music or just chatted or stroked the cats and chatted and generally had a lovely time....
Lovely :-)
I hope you ALL had an equally lovely time!
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
A seasonal message
I hope 2009 brings all of my readers a peaceful, happy and contented time.
Cheers!
from Compostwoman and all her family, the cats, the guinea pig and especially all the chickens at Compost Mansions.
XXXXX
Chickenailia!
The Sweetie Six all have names, now!
I put in a mail order of various chicken related stuff and so I finally have some different coloured leg rings - our local store only had packs of single colours and I didn't want 20 red or 20 yellow rings! but Flytes of Fancy stock a multi pack of different colours!
So..the Dorking girls are now Ruby (red leg ring), Violet (purple leg ring) Buffy(yellow leg ring) and Willow formerly-known-as-The-Smallest-Chick (pink leg ring) and yes Compostman and I DO like BtVS.... ;-))
( whispers *I* don't actually need the coloured leg rings to tell them apart, but Compostman and Compostgirl do, so .....)
We are still in the process of sorting out and tidying up all the stuff in the Lean To. I have been sorting and tidying the chicken related stuff and using an old shelf unit we threw out of the house (many years ago) as a store for wild bird food and chicken related stuff. The chicken feed lives in a separate storage box from the wild bird feed btw! I am slightly worried at how much chicken related "stuff" I have accumulated, but I *DO* use it all, honest!
Let's face it, I am mad about my chickens! Besotted, utterly besotted....
Monday, 22 December 2008
Yule decorating and musings.
These are from a conifer in the garden, I have been cutting back the very bottom branches and used the greenery to make these decorative bunches. With some ivy and (reused) ribbon and trimmings from presents I have been given they look rather swish I think.
Well actually *I* think they look splendid! They are hanging either side of the wood burner and the scent they are giving off into the sitting room is AMAZING!
This wreath is a base of weeping silver birch, twined with ivy and with grrenery tied in at various places with ( more ) reused or recycled bits of ribbon, fabric etc.
Life has been a bit grim here for the last few months, illness, various difficulties and a punishing amount of "stuff" which must be done has left us all feeling rather less than festive at this moment in time.
To be honest, I have only just put up the cards we have received and I have only sent 10 cards (to close family and friends) instead of the more usual 30 or more.
Part of this cut back in cards was a conscious decision to reduce the "stuff" we consumed during the festive season, as even though all our cards are made from 100% recycled card and support charities we believe in, they STILL use resources in their manufacture and in their delivery.
So, I have made more use of e cards this year AND also just not sent cards at all, preferring to email, write or telephone the people instead.
However, during the making of my simple, green, decorations I finally managed to get into the festive spirit. I have also been putting together a hamper for a good friend who has recently moved house, just some small home made gifts but again, it has got me more connected with the real meaning of this time of year.
So with real feeling I can say to all of you out there in Blogland....
SEASON'S GREETINGS!!
and a VERY happy 2009!
Sunday, 21 December 2008
Silver Grey Dorkings
I have had several inquiries sbout them and so I thought I would put up some links and information.
Strictly speaking Silver Grey Dorkings should have 5 toes, and ours don't, but as I wasn't planning on showing them, that's fine by me.
A Yule present!
As you know I am a follower of Rhonda Jean's blog Down to earth and also the Simple Green Frugal co-op blog which she is a part of. Her blog is inspirational, informative and so warm and well written.
The co-op blog is more of the same! Lots of wonderful authors writing about, as the name implies, being more Simple, Green and Frugal.
So...if anyone new to my blog has come via Simple Green Frugal, a VERY warm welcome to you all and I hope you enjoy what you read on this, my personal blog.
Hmm, so I wonder what my first post on Simple Green Frugal should be about?
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Gifts!
Recycled card labels, recycled ribbon and raffia to tie them on and saved paper to wrap them in.
Gifts from the heart, the best sort of gift I hope!
All done with love to give to friends to share of the best we can make.
Friday, 19 December 2008
A visitor in my kitchen today
but today the silly thing decided to come INTO the house to get the crumbs...
Thursday, 18 December 2008
15 weeks old and beginning to cluck ( and crow!)
They are a funny little bunch, full of joy and fun. They come running and flapping, almost taking off in their haste, when ever I appear in the garden!
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
I LOVE Freecycle!
A guitar and two lovely wooden bar stools!
The Guitar was advertised as a child's one but it isn't , it is a full sized acoustic one, WITH a case, and in good condition, so I am very happy ! I have a guitar again! I gave the nice man a jar of chutney as a "thank you" I like to try to offer a small something in return.
The stools were from a lovely couple on the Leominster side of Hereford, who I gave a bottle of our Apple juice to as a gift and we had a lovely natter about this and that, chutney and hens and cider and stuff...
I DO love rescuing stuff from landfill and I love chatting to like minded people.
Like fellow Frecyclers!
Monday, 15 December 2008
Not Singing in the Rain
dug out all the gunky mud, (see! I DO do some work! ;-) )
This also stops them putting their mucky feet all over their newly laid eggs and making them dirty, which means I can't sell them! The tarpaulin was also extended back over the run so most of it is now sheltered from the rain.
It IS a good job we keep stuff here...you never know what might come in handy!
I am trying to avoid completely ruining the grass I walk over to get to the chicken orchard, but I fear I may need henboards* down to actually stop it happening. In the longer term I think we will have some sunken paving slabs down as a permenent path to the hens.
We started all this just after lunch and I finished just after this amazing sunset was gracing the sky.
The hens were very pleased to be dry footed I think! So an afternoon well spent we hope.
* well they can't be duck boards, can they?