I think i made a big compost mistake!

[dhrynio]

Two years ago we had a neighbor kid help us rake in the autumn and he loaded my compost pile with pine needles. They are not breaking down and it seems to be stopping the pile from heating up. Is there anything I can do to save it? Or at least to get it going again?

 

[ChanellG]

Danni, Zigs and I have been having a discussion about pine needles in the liquid fertilizer thread. Perhaps he can help you with that. https://www.gardening-forums.com/posts/2924/
I hope the needles weren't green though when you put them in.

I found this blog from a Polish gardener that you might find interesting: http://ewainthegarden.blogspot.com/

Not sure where you are, but this one is a part two blog entry to gardening in the mountains in Poland: http://www.jannelsonlandscapedesign.com/wordpress/?cat=204

Maybe through these you can locate some resources near you for help with stuff like your worm bins.

 

[dhrynio]

Thank you Chanell! I will check out that blog!

I through that thread and maybe them not being fresh and green is the key! I plan to see how they look this next spring. I will keep you all updated when I take apart my compost pile.

 

[ChanellG]

You're welcome, Danni. You know, you might also consider having a separate pile for composting the needles. Sometimes people do that with things like grass clippings since different plants have different needs and too much grass is bad in the compost.

 

[dhrynio]

Your right about too much grass in the compost. We have a huge yard (well for Poland it is huge) and the cuttings are massive, way too much to put into the compost. The lot next door is empty and the owner told us she doesn't mind if we dump our grass clipping over the fence. So we basically have an all grass compost pile over there. I know itis not idea but I take it after it has composted and add it to my big compost pile. I am not sure if that is the best thing sto do but I am not sure what else to do with it all.
I did dig into the oldest pile and it was the loveliest black light compost. But it had been there for two years.

 

[ChanellG]

I think with the grass compost you could just put it into containers until you need it. You may need to amend some soil in the future, or maybe you could trade it for something else if someone has plants that need nitrogen or if you have container plants that could benefit from it. You could always use those mowers that allow it to compost back into the lawn.

Maybe you can alternate with collecting it for compost and using it to feed the lawn. Check out this grasscycle article: http://www.homecompostingmadeeasy.com/grassclippings.html.

 

[dhrynio]

That article gives me some good things to think about! Thank you Chanell! You are a wealth of information!

I plan to use the grass compost as part of my soil mix for my garden, I did it last year and it seemed to work just fine. But there is a lot of it on the other side of the fence!

 

[ChanellG]

Does your neighbor also compost? Maybe you can share

 

[dhrynio]

I am quite lucky in that my neighbor on one side built a house and it has been for sale now for 5 years and I don't know if it will ever sell in it's current unfinished state. The other side is a huge empty plot, which I have my eye on for my homesteading dreams, that is where we dump our grass clippings. Behind us is some land that is used for gardens and greenhouses by a family that lives in town. They are not so friendly, but they just come in the day suring the growing season and putter around.

 

[ChanellG]

Wow Danni, a lot of people in the city would envy your situation. I have come to appreciate where I live, but I would love just a bit more space between me and the neighbors, lol. There is a house next to me on one side that isn't occupied. I would love to purchase it and relocate it to another lot, but it actually acts as a good barrier from the next one over (long story).

 

[dhrynio]

Good fences (or in your case empty houses) make good neighbors!

We are very fortunate. The town where we live in about 70,000 people. But most people live in apartment blocks so the town itself is not so big. Just outside the town limits are still farms and lots of land.This is where we bought our property and it is only a 5 minute drive to town. The land was farm land long ago and all around us is farm land, but the village is growing and I fear that in 20 years will not seem so villagy any more. I am seeing for sale signs in the farm land along the main road pop up all the time.

 

[ChanellG]

Oh, no! I hope that will not happen. I love living in the city, but it can get so congested and cities generate a lot of pollution. I think that rural areas need to be preserved. The world does not need more suburbs.