Facing the compost nightmare and other stories
Hello Friends!
I got a little garden bench recently and it's my new favourite thing. VERY BROWN THOUGH....what colour should I paint it? Or should I just be patient and wait for it to go grey gracefully? It also needs upholstery. Everything is better with upholstery.
I hope you've had a wonderful week. Here are my five minute forays:
Monday:
We had a marathon weekend, including a couple of parties plus our small boy's 5th birthday party at home, so today has been more of a recovery day than anything else.
I briefly contemplate dealing with my compost bin but cannot face it. Instead, I do admin - bills, and school stuff and all the heinous dealings which I really didn't sign up for when I entered adult life but still plague me. It speaks volumes that I'd rather do this than tackle the compost. No gardening.
The Hotbin Saga
My compost saga has been going on for months. I got the Hotbin in October, hopeful that it would be an easy and efficient way of dealing with not only my garden waste, but also my kitchen waste too - you are supposed to be able to compost pretty much anything in there, including meat and fish, due to the enclosed system, and the fact that the temperatures reached are really high. It all sounds fabulous doesn't it, except that the Hotbin has very specific needs in terms of the ratio of green to brown waste, and it is extremely unforgiving if these needs are not met. Yes, a bit like the toddler who throws his food at you because you had the temerity to give him a pink plate. I tried, I really did. I tore up egg boxes and added handfuls of partially composted bark with each load. And for a while, things seemed like they were hotting up nicely. The smell turned from putrid to really rather enticing, and the temperature gauge was soaring. But then I mowed my lawn, and added rather too many grass clippings. The temperature soared again, but the contents of the bin turned sludgy and disgusting. I tried adding lots of shredded paper and cardboard as I had run out of bark chippings, but the problems persisted, and about a month ago I shut the damn thing and put my head in the sand. It was only after I couldn't bear to throw away yet more veg peelings that I decided I really needed to do something about it. I spoke to Hotbin ladies on the Chelsea stand. They advised me that it wasn't going to be enough just to dump a load of bark chippings into the bin and mix it around. I needed to remove the entire contents and mix it properly. I ordered more composted bark and girded myself.
Tuesday:
Okay, there's nothing for it. This has to be done. Today. I put on my marigolds and wellies, along with an apron (that's a sure sign I'm serious about something) and I thank the heavens that it's not a hot day like yesterday, so the smell won't be too overwhelming - although I am wrong about this. I open the Hotbin and am immediately hit by a wall of nauseating stench that nearly knocks me out. I hold my breath and start to dig out the sludge. It is deeply traumatising and I'm not really up for elaborating but let's just say I want to be sick in my mouth. I put each load on a piece of old plastic sheeting and dump in on the terrace. When I finally have everything out I chop it up a it with a spade and sprinkle a thick layer of composted bark over it. I then take a small load at a time, putting it back on the plastic sheeting, mixing it up as best I can, and putting it back in the bin. It takes quite a bit longer. By the time I'm finished and have hosed down the terrace I have lost a good hour of my life and feel like I need a shower. The bin is much fuller than previously and the overflow is now in another old plastic bag. I won't be adding it it any more now, until it starts to decompose, which should hopefully start happening soon. I shut the lid and stomp off. Moral: Always read the instructions.
Wednesday:
I sow a wide, shallow pot with basil, because there's never enough basil, and my children clamour for it. I don't bother growing basil to reach maturity - I just sow pots of it and harvest it at a young age, sowing another pot as I begin harvesting the first. This keeps me in basil and means I don't have to mess around pricking out and potting on. I use sieved compost in a shallow container, watering well and then sprinkling the seeds pretty thickly and covering with about half a cm of more sieved compost. I then pat it down reassuringly and make sure the surface becomes damp (if it doesn't I spray it with a mister).
The pot lives indoors, in my kitchen, but at this time of year you can do this outside; it will just take a bit longer.
I also clip a few more box balls - mighty satisfying although I am not very good at making them even. Box clipping videos on the internet are my guilty pleasure and I feel like I'm doing it just like the experts but no, it turns out I am not. But hey, wonksome is okay with me as long as the job is done.
Thursday:
I feed all of the clipped box balls with TopBuxus Health Mix.
This comes in the form of an effervescent tablet which you dissolve and then spray all over the plant. I like doing mindless things like this; it means more time daydreaming. When I first used this product I put it in an ordinary old spray bottle that I had lying around, but it required so much pumping of the lever that I got a bad blister between my thumb and forefinger. For this reason I reluctantly went out and bought a monstrous plastic product with a pump. It holds a lot more liquid and I have only to press a button and a fine mist is released. Much easier.
Friday:
The geranium pheum which is rather a statement plant at the bottom of my terrace, has gone over now and transformed into a dusty-looking worn out thing. The spent flowers have dropped and the stems are pale grey/brown. They look cobwebby - a bit like the forgetmenots. I want freshness, so I take the shears and chop the whole thing off to the base, giving it a good water. A few weeks and it'll sprout again with fresh foliage.
All the good things
x Laetitia
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