Twin Peaks, Wisconsin
Geologists tell us that Wisconsin was once a land of huge mountains with crests as tall as the Rockies. That Precambrian topography has since gone through quite a few changes. While the state still has some gorgeous and impressive hills, spectacular snow capped ranges are not part of the scenery. I’m working to change that. Here are two mountains of compost covered by our first significant snow of the winter.
Just last year, the smaller pile – elev. 53″ (1.34 M), was taller than the large one is now, but a turn and a burn have reduced it to less than a third its original size. It’s still cooking very slowly, but is pretty much ready to start feeding the garden next spring.
The large pile – elev. 72″ (1.83 M), is this year’s collection of weeds and crop residues. I’ll give it a turn next year and work in the sludge I’ve created in a 55 gallon drum, where I collect all the household compostable materials before I work it into the pile of drier outdoor material.
I talked about the sludge and the worms that miraculously show up in my compost in two previous posts: Noel’s Sense of Snow and Compost and Working Worms.
I have a larger property so I have the advantage of an easy-to-work open site, but compost can be made on a very small scale, and enclosed in containers. If you garden and you can make compost, you should.