I am a compost convert...I am completely sold on the idea of closing the nutrient cycle of everything that grows and comes onto someones property. Of course apartment dwellers can't do this easily, but so many people live on suburban lots. There are lots of excuses why people don't compost and most of them are crappy ones. Basic knowledge shouldn't be one of those excuses. You can find all kinds of advice...everything from detailed scientific or pro-farmer experiences all the way down to average yokels like me. Here is one simple lesson.
Where to site your pile is a common question. Common pointers: not near trees (roots will suck nutrients), not in the shade (heat helps decomposition), close to your garden (for convenience). Sometimes they add "close to your kitchen." Well...guess where mine is? Not close to my kitchen. Look below:
All the way at the back of the lot near the corner of the neighbor's fence.
Do you know why they recommend putting it near the kitchen? Because this is what you collect to put in the pile:
Not exactly what you want lingering in your kitchen.
Now Northwest Arkansas has mild winters...but this one was extreme. We had four snows in a six week period. The first was the dusting above.
The second was several inches..okay, normal. And usually it melts off fast.
The third was a very decent snow by our standards. And some very cold weather to go along with it.
The fourth snow was 14 inches at our house. A record during my lifetime for Fayetteville. And BITTER COLD for days. (don't the raised beds look like shallow graves covered in snow?)Well guess what happens when you don't want to trudge through knee high snow at 4 degrees?
PILEUP!!!!!
Lesson learned.
