Backyard composting- bins and worms

I can't think of a more important part of sustainable backyard gardening than having a good composting system. Compost is key to building soil, sequestering carbon, creating a healthy soil ecosystem, and increasing water holding capacity. I prefer to add fresh compost every time I plant. So I took advantage of a string of dry and sunny days to start two backyard composting projects. I don't want to compost any of the invasive plants that I'm digging out (thanks Waste Management for doing that for me!), but we cut down several large Camellias along the neighbor's driveway and they were a perfect resource to start composting. Dad has an old green waste shredder (so old it's labeled "Made in West Germany") that has traveled cross-country during many moves but no one was using it. It sounded perfect for my backyard composting plans so Dad worked to get it running again and brought it over for a test run. Thanks, Dad!!

It worked great! We were limited by the diameter of material the machine would grind up, but otherwise we shredded a large pile of green debris and set aside the thicker branches for the city compost bin. It's an electric grinder, so I'll be curious to see our next eclectic bill. I was wishing we already had solar panels so I didn't feel so guilty about using it, but it really made a huge difference in the quality of the material we were planning to compost. Surface area is the key to breaking material down quickly, so by shredding it the microbes will be able to get to work faster! 

Then I needed to find something to contain the green debris. I'm still looking for a stackable compost bin, or something more animal-proof so we can compost our food scraps, but this old dog crate will work for now. I layered in the shredded vegetation and watered each layer. I have more material ready to grind up and add to the bin and I'm hoping to start generating usable compost in the next 3-4 months!

I also wanted to get the worm bin going. Worms can't make as much compost as a bin, but the quality of vermicompost can't be beat. To get it started, I found a friend with extra worms (you can also buy them at garden centers or mail-order them), lined a bin with a slatted bottom with landscape fabric, and shredded up newspaper for bedding. Then I moistened the newspaper and added the worms.

I gave the worms some food, in case they were hungry after their journey- you have to be more selective about what you feed the worms. No citrus, onions, or mangos and of course no dairy/meat/oils etc. So I set aside some kale leaves, arugula, apple cores, and coffee grounds and spread this around on top of the worms. Then I added another layer of damp newspaper and put a cover on the bin. Hopefully, the worms are happy in there and enjoying their new home! I put some bricks on the cover to keep out curious or hungry racoons or rats or ...? and put the bricks over the vents to keep too much rainwater from getting in the bin. The worms like it damp, but too much water will drown them. Eventually, the worms and their compost will fill the bin and I'll add a second slatted bin on top. As you feed the worms in the second bin, they are supposed to migrate up and leave you a worm-free bin of compost to use! The plants will be so happy :)

Transition from Presidio Community Garden blog to my backyard gardening blog!

Hi! I'm Jean, a lover of gardens, plants, cooking, and all things related to sustainable living. A hearty welcome to 2021- a new year and a time for new beginnings. If you received this message because you are or were a member of the Presidio Community Gardens feel free to read about my new projects or use the unsubscribe option at the bottom of the page. Despite all of the tough times I'm focussed on looking ahead and one of my new projects will be using this blog to document and share adventures in backyard food growing at my new house in East Oakland. I can't wait for sunny summers (as compared to 22 years of foggy gardening 5 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge)! 

This is the very first garden that is my personal space to tend. For the last 20 years I was working in a public space, teaching Presidio residents how to garden in their raised community garden box and working to transform an abandoned historic garden into a neighborhood gathering place and demonstration garden. Now I have the opportunity to design and care for my own little backyard oasis! These photos are from the MLS listing- probably taken in October 2020. We get really nice sun exposure in the yard- and that was one of my sticking points when house hunting- no big trees and no north facing yards for me! There is a great website called suncalc where you can see how the sun moves across your property. Our backyard faces SE, and since it is terraced up we get good sun almost all day. The shady areas are next to the retaining walls on the right side of the yard.

First projects: 

• Identify what is growing in the garden
• Remove the thick layer of 'gorilla fur' mulch
• Find the irrigation lines; test the timer and lines
• Watch how the sun moves in the yard
• Excavate the winter weeds- Oxalis pes-caprae, wild garlic
• Remove overgrown and invasive landscaping plants
• Try to rehome the newish sod in the front yard
• Notice how foot traffic patterns develop and plan paths accordingly
• Learn how to care for the plants I want to keep (orange, lemon, apple)

26 December 2020: We had three large vining plant in the sunniest back left corner- what were they? From the general growth pattern I suspected wisteria. My friend Em spied a long seedpod hanging over the fence- ID confirmed! Wisteria is in the legume family and is beautiful when flowering. Definitely a plant I love. But in this case it had been planted against a fence and was already pulling apart fence boards and growing into the neighbors garage roof shingles! Right plant, right place? Nope. Wisteria needs a very sturdy pergola located away from any structures that it could damage. Great for a bocce court at a winery, terrible on a residential fence. So out they came- and those were some serious roots. Juan Rapido is thrilled to have heavy labor projects while the gyms are closed! This sunny corner of the garden is slated for future fruit trees or a greenhouse. 

I hope to find other gardening enthusiasts in this new neighborhood and would love to help you get your vegetable garden growing if you need advice or hands-on help! Reasonable hourly rates :) For questions or to get in touch, send me a message via Google mail at gardenergreenjean. Looking forward to more garden projects this week while the rain holds off!

sunrise 25 December 2020