How To Make A Composter Tumbler From A Plastic Trash Can (In Less Than 30 Minutes)

You can buy a decent medium to large composter/tumbler for around $100 or more from your local hardware store or an online retailer such as on Amazon.Or, for less than $20, you can easily make one yourself today! To start and complete your composter tumbler, all you need are the following: Less than 30 minutes of your time. Any size ROUND plastic trash can with a SECURE lid ("round" and "secure lids" are important because in order to mix contents, you will need to roll the container on the ground without having the top pop off). A decent drill with a 1/4" to 1" size drill bit (I do not recommend holes larger than 1" - especially if you're adding kitchen waste - since debris may fall out of the holes). Steps 1,2 and 3 - Drilling Holes Drill holes on the top, side, and bottom of your trash can (in any order). This is actually fast and effortless work. I was surprised how easily the drill poked through the plastic - just like a hot knife through butter. Making your own composter tumbler is not rocket science, so there is no "right" amount of holes - just use your best judgement & don't be bashful (airflow is essential, so you can't go wrong with too many holes). NOTE: The larger the size of your drill bit, fewer holes are necessary. That's it. Your composter is finished. Steps 4 and 5 - Adding and Maintaining Your Compost In a future post, I will explain in more detail the basics of composting (in the meantime you can read this guide). For now, simply add your yard or kitchen debris, always making sure your compost never gets too dry or too wet. From time-to-time, mix your compostables by laying the composter on its side and rolling it around on the ground a bit. Congratulations. In several weeks or a few months you'll have the perfect garden food. If all of this sounds like too much work, or you don't have a drill etc..., you can always buy one. Composting tumblers, such as these,are amazingly cheap and practical.

Landscaping Using Your Own Garden Rocks

After tilling, thousands of new rocks are unearthed in my garden If your garden is full of small (or big) rocks, don't get mad -- use them to your advantage. This year I decided that after each ground tilling session (about once a month), that I would take time to walk through, collect and store all the newly unearthed rocks from my garden. These will be used when the weather cools for landscaping around the yard. With the garden freshly tilled the day before (and ready for Fall vegetable seed planting), yesterday was "rock picking-up day." My personal method of collecting and storing rocks Nabber If you choose, the most effective way to collect the most rocks is to get on your knees and pick up the rocks as you crawl around. Another method is to bend, stoop and pick up the rocks but this is harder on your back and joints. However, I personally prefer to use a nabber (pictured, above right - click image for more info). This allows me to nearly effortlessly collect rocks without any bending or much bodily stress. But even this device isn't perfect -- after a while, the nabber does strain your hands and wrists a little, so I wouldn't recommend this device if you have arthritis or weak hands/wrists. Before beginning, I place numerous empty plant containers at various points equally spaced apart (image 1, above). This ensures that all containers are merely a nabber reach away - reducing unnecessary walking around. Decide what size rocks you want to collect. For me, the rocks have to be the size of a quarter or bigger. Next you simply use your nabber to pick up your rocks (image 2a), and place them in the closest container you see (image 2b). Walk around and collect rocks from the entire area until you're finished. When you're done collecting, empty each container (image 3a) into your transport of choice - in my case, a wheelbarrow (image 3b). Transfer and dump your load (image 4) to a collection pile somewhere around your yard. Keep repeating every time after tilling, or in places where you have used your hoe. Rocks seem to unearth all of the time. Your rocks can be used anywhere. Here I've used them to circle plants. If you have a fairly large garden and lots of rocks - as I do - each year should yield enough rocks for several large landscaping projects. If your garden is smaller with fewer rocks, it may take years to collect enough rocks to do anything significant. But it's all worth it. Final words Get in the habit of keeping a bucket for rocks near your garden at all times. Rocks have a strange way of "just appearing," and gathering them as you go expedites your collection efforts. HINT: The best time to pick up rocks is after it rains and dries off a bit. The rain cleans the dirt off the rocks and makes the mud darker -- the resulting contrast makes seeing the rocks much easier SUGGESTION: Got children around? Wanna get them involved around the garden? Consider offering a child some monetary or other reward to collect the rocks. You can pay them by the bucket-full, by weight, or however you choose.

Living Off the Land By Growing, Harvesting & Sustaining Your Own Bamboo

Growing bamboo for sustainability may not be a right fit for everyone for numerous reasons. These may include a shortage of yard space, lack of conformity with the rest of the landscape, lack of devotion or time needed for harvesting etc. But for others who are open-minded & into sustainability - is it really such a bad idea? Bamboo is extremely versatile and also a very green plant, generating 35% more oxygen than trees while reducing runoff by collecting extra nitrogen found in soil. My connection with bamboo As long as I have been vegetable gardening, I have been using bamboo sticks religiously to help support my plants The benefits for me include their ability to naturally blend in with the garden and their ability to bend & conform with the wind & weight of the plants. Every so often when driving around (even in Virginia), I come across an area of bamboo. For some reason, this type of vegetation always draws my attention. Perhaps it's because they "seem" too tropical to grow or thrive in this region. That, however, is a widespread misconception - that bamboo can only grow in wet climates. While bamboo is not a common plant in American gardens, especially the farther north you go, several species are native to USA and many others can tolerate temperatures as low as 0 degrees Fahrenheit (or lower). There are documented cases of bamboo not only surviving New England winters, but actually thriving there. Bamboo has a reputation as being a hardy, tough plant. Curiously, although tree-like in many ways, bamboo is actually a grass - with giant bamboos being the largest member of the grass family. Their size can range from just a few inches high (low, clumping type), to a height of over 100 feet. Most bamboo prefer sun, but some can live in full shade (though growing smaller). They can be successfully planted on sloped surfaces and do best in sandy soil or red clay, but are tolerable with most soil types. Excessively wet soil should be avoided. A variety of uses While the shoots of the plant can be eaten (a topic best left for another persons blog), practical uses for bamboo include making fences, scaffolds, trellises, bridges, ladders and a variety of crafts (the possibilities are as varied as a person's imagination). In fact, bamboo is said to be used by more humans for more different purposes than any other plant. Bamboo Fence Though Bamboo can be grown in containers, this is not practical for sustainable use. For this purpose, they should be grown in the ground. Because bamboo roots are aggressive 'runners,' spreading quickly, extra attention should be taken when initially planning & planting bamboo. To help avoid spreading, a 2-3 foot deep solid barrier should be initially installed. With a right eye for landscape design (and a potpourri of sizes & species to choose from), the possibilities of landscaping or decorating your space are many. Since these plants can be split, you theoretically never have to buy more - just split & transplant yearly. And best of all, like your lawn, bamboo is a grass & thus it is low maintenance. Sustainability for gardeners Gardeners may be most familiar with bamboo for its use as a plant stake. Plant stakes As gardeners, we are becoming more self-sufficient every year, so why not entertain the idea of growing our own bamboo plants? For the very least, the plant should pay for itself with just a few harvests of canes for our personal garden use (have you seen the price of bamboo sticks recently?). But before you go out buying - then planting - some bamboo to use as sticks for next year's garden, think again. You'll need an initial investment of time to reap these benefits. It's said that culms (the part use for sticks) reaches its strongest point from 2 to 5 years of age. Before using, they will also need to be dried on a flat surface through the winter. Finding the right bamboo If interested in growing bamboo for sustainable or general landscaping use, do extensive internet research and/or try to find a nearby bamboo nursery and come prepared with questions, facts & requirements specific to your needs. These may include your area climate (rainfall, hottest/coldest temps etc.), height requirement, sun or shade, soil conditions, large or small plot of land, and will the bamboo be used for decor, privacy screen or as a windbreak? Helpful Bamboo Links: American Bamboo Society Complete Bamboo (Bamboo Information Resource) Bamboo Bob's Blog Wikipedia *DISCLAIMER: Before using any information contained in this blog entry, you are advised to do your own due diligence & research on the topic and/or consult with a qualified professional.