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 29 March 2013

A chilly Good Friday


Welcome to my new followers Scarlet and Lana Nichole :-)

The snow has nearly all gone here now - just a line along  the bottom of the hedge boundaries up on Marcle Ridge remains. It is still very cold here, though - it has only just  been up above freezing here all day and out of the ( oh so welcome) sunshine it was very chilly indeed. I did get a load of washing dry on the line, though - this cold dry weather is excellent for line drying.

The hens were moaning like mad at the cold wind ruffling up their feathery knickerbockers. They did not want to come out of the run today and we only had 2 eggs- they really are obviously very displeased with things! They spent most of the afternoon hanging around under the bird feeder, waiting to mug passing chaffinches for niger and sunflower seed. The arival of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker to eat peanuts caused a few rufffled feathers though - and even more so when the Cock Pheasant turned up - he tolerates no nonsense from the Hens and he pecked at Yarrow hen  - after that the hens gave up and all moved away to skulk in the orchard.

At least the sun is shining, :-)

This time last year the daytime temperature was 22 C here - I was in T shirt and shorts, planting my potatoes. This year I hope to get some potatoes in the ground this week end  but I am not holding my breath! I have a load of tomato plants waiting to be pricked out into individual pots and normally they would be in the polytunnel in a cold frame by now. It is too cold to even contemplate doing that at the moment, so the porch is bursting at the seams with plants.

Clocks go forward tomorow night remember! It was still light at 6.30 here today, so I am looking forward to the light holding up until 7.30 pm on Sunday, even if we do lose it at the start of the day ( I am an Owl, not a Lark, so prefer more daylight at the end of the day.)

Hoping you all have a lovely Easter weekend and celebrate in whatever way you wish - I will be eating eggs and welcoming signs of Spring into my home, even if I have to look very hard to find some at the moment :-)





14 comments:

  1. We forwarded our clocks a couple of weeks ago. I just thought the 'world' did it all the same time! I wish really that we didn't switch the clocks. But atlas I can not change what has been put into motion. Have a very happy Easter! Envious about potatoe planting, shall not be doing that for about another 7 weeks!

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    1. The way the weather is here, I am beginning to wonder if we will have to wait that long!

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  2. We've had a gift of two unusually warm days which melted the snow (although the ground is still frozen) and cheered up the chickens. One dozen eggs today!

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    1. Now you are just gloating!

      But glad someone's chickens are laying, anyway :-)

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  3. Happy Easter :) Just starting to get colder here and we have had the fire burning these last few days. It's most definitely Autumn here now and our first night with a slight frost risk is predicted at the end of this week. I'm loving the darker mornings and evenings and for the first time ever I eagerly anticipate the arrival of Winter. It's been a very long hot Summer here.

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    1. Its odd to think that you are going into winter now, while we are ( hopefully, at last!) coming out of it.

      it seems like we have had winter for ever, here.

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  4. Our bantams, snug in the big greenhouse, are laying well now. But they're going to have to come out soon or they'll fry when spring finally arrives.

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    1. I have two hens who were in hentensive care inside the Polytunnel when they first arrive - they still keep trying to get back inside! Although it may be the lure of Kale plants in there that is actually tempting them ;-)

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  5. Just wanted to ask you a compost question if I may. Although it is still a little too damp I am slowly trying to sieve my compost for use (like to sieve to get anything out that still needs composting). As I will be growing strawberries in troughs this year, will sieved compost be too strong to plant them into or should I mix it with some bought in compost?

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    1. I'd mix the compost in with either some soil or bought in growing media Dc - neat compost ( unless madewith a fair amount of soil on roots as well) is quite high in nutrients and if newly made still biologically a bit "hot" so could affect your plants adversely.

      Hoe this helps :-)

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  6. All this late march snow is making my allotment work very difficult! Still have lots to do in the allotment to get it sorted ready for planting but the snow keeps getting in the way! Can't plant anything yet until the ground warms up a bit anyway.

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    1. I know! it is still very cold and I am covering all the beds over and hoping I can plant next week

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  7. I can't believe the difference between last year and this year.

    Good to hear the woodpecker's back!

    Sft x

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    1. Lots of drumming from the Green ones in the wood now !

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