Today the final cap stone was placed on the new bins.
There are three new bins and they are constructed of masonry units. Despite the fact that the blocks are not mortared the structure is incredibly sturdy. They are filled with limestone rubble with only the caps glued in place.
Congratulations David for another fine project. And just in time for all that late winter pruning.
Meanwhile I cleaned out the old compost bins removing the stuff that wasn't composted and adding it to the new bins. Then a barrow load of mixed compost-this needs screening before I put it into the garden.
And finally about a 6" layer of the fine rich compost. I have a hundred places where I could put this.
I'm hoping that composting will be easier in the new bins. At least easier to turn. The old beds will be dismantled and the area tidied up.
Ooh, shiny new compost bins! Ok, so not literally shiny, but they look great! On another note, what is that big, beautiful opuntia next to the old bins? Does it have glochids? I'm on the hunt for large, upright opuntia, sans glochids or dense spines, hardy in zone 8a.
ReplyDeleteOpuntia cacanapa 'Ellisiana'?
DeleteHoover Boo may be correct. It is spineless and seems to be quite hardy. Grows very quickly. One problem is scale- not the cochineal but the tiny flat kind.
DeleteI thought it looked like 'Ellisiana'. I've seen descriptions of that plant from various sources. Some say it has glochids, some say it doesn't. I'm hoping to find the latter is true.
DeleteThe bins look great and will last forever. Good going!
ReplyDeleteNow those are well-constructed compost bins! I need something better than I've got (a compost tumbler inherited with the house, probably because it was too big and unwieldy to move) but I've yet to find the right spot to put a proper one.
ReplyDeleteThose are built to last. I need something like that.
ReplyDeleteWill these have a front wall? If so, are you concerned about oxygen? If not, will you keep the piles low or let it spill out the front?
ReplyDeleteI don't have experience with anything fancier than a never-turned heap in the corner of the yard, but I'd like to make a nicer setup, and I hear these are considerations.
No front wall. Our other bins hand a front wall and it was very difficult to turn the contents. If things spill out we will just fork them back. I am hoping to get some hot compost going although it is more difficult when you don't have grass.
DeleteDo you know about how many cinder blocks (masonry blocks) this took? I would love to do something similar.
ReplyDeleteI looks as though it was about 30 full size blocks and 12+ half blocks fro each section. It would depend on whether you wanted a large one than these.
Delete