Tag Archives: Compost

Pumpkin recycling stations map 2017

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Pumpkin Recycling Stations – have the pumpkins brought to you!

For several years I’ve had a Pumpkin Recycling Station after Halloween so people who don’t want their pumpkins to cause more harm can drop them off and I will compost them. (I take gourds and potted mums as well.)

This year, a few more people are joining in and we’ve set up a map to help you find the closest pumpkin recycling station.

Some locations are only open an hour or less (eg, schools), so please read specifics for your preferred location.

In order to see the map, you need to agree that:

I WILL ONLY BRING PUMPKINS AND GOURDS WITH NO CANDLE, NO PAINT, NO BLING.
(you can cut paint/bling off and bring us the rest)
IF THERE IS NO SIGN OR BUCKET,
I WILL NOT LEAVE MY PUMPKIN.

Stations were open for two weeks – until 11/13. Most stations are now closed – please note the one you saw earlier may no longer be available.

Agree

Compost volunteers in the garden

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Three of the several volunteer pumpkins we’ll get this year.

Composting rarely kills off all tomato and squash seeds. This is one reason that municipal yard waste programs don’t want you to place your pumpkins in yard waste.

If you don’t want the “volunteer” tomato and squash plants that pop up, they’re easy enough to pull. Sometimes, however, they work to your advantage.

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Maple leaves have fallen and we’re all going to live

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Maple Tar Spot. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

This is a follow up to the recent post “maple leaves falling and we’re all going to die.”

Turns out, stories of our imminent death may have been premature. I was able to contact Professor George Hudler of Cornell for more information, and he’s got more good news. Continue reading →

Maple leaves are falling and we’re all going to die

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Maple Tar Spot infected leaf. Image used with these permissions: Use:Saforrest, Black tar spot on sugar maple, CC BY-SA 3.0

I’ve received a lot of questions about the diseased Maple leaves falling early and whether they’re safe to compost.

I’m terrible at this whole “don’t give an answer right away in order to drag readers along” so here’s the short answer:

If you hot compost, you can compost them.
If not, send the leaves away.

More explanation and information after the jump. Continue reading →

Easy compost turning with video

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Turning compost can be difficult for people with limited upper body strength, a bad back or limited height, depending on the style compost unit you use. Plunging a pitchfork or shovel into a pile is easy, but lifting that material may not be.

What we’ve found is that a long bulb auger does the job well, at the right price. Continue reading →

Winter Composting

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Thermometer is frosty, but inside the bin it is a cozy 140 F.

Thermometer is frosty, but inside the bin it is a cozy 140 F.

There are two important things to know about winter composting in places like Massachusetts:

1. Winter composting is possible and requires little more than frequent additions.

2. If your compost freezes over, which is normal, that is NOT A PROBLEM! The pile will restart once the weather warms. Continue reading →

Putting fall “garbage” to use

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All garbage, mostly great for the garden. Image via Shari Weinsheimer, with no copyright, using this CC: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

All garbage, mostly great for the garden. Image via Shari Weinsheimer, with no copyright, using this CC: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Autumn’s garbage provides a wealth of opportunities for next year’s garden. Not just leaves, but pumpkins and potted plants, too. (But leave the straw bale.)

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Rats and compost

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Completely Updated 9/25/2016: Nobody wants rats in their compost. There are a few ways to get them to scram, and a few other ways to keep them from ever getting in, with varying degrees of cost and difficulty.

Let’s start with the easiest and least expensive.

First of all, take care in what you’re composting, and make sure you’re not adding anything rats especially like to your compost.  No animal products other than eggshells, no bread, no rice. No eggshells, and many people report that potatoes are a favorite rat food. Used coffee grounds are unlikely to repel rats, but rats don’t want to eat them, and they get the compost cooking quickly.

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