Rebuilding the Compost Bin - Part One

In my last post, I bewailed the fact that the cedar trees had been invading my garden.  Then yesterday, I discovered they had gotten into the compost bin as well!  We had carefully built the compost bin on a concrete slab raised up from the ground so that the cedar roots couldn't get in.  We built this compost bin about 15 years ago and it has served us well.  It was constructed entirely out of cedar planks and posts which came from trees taken down on our property.

Rotting cedar boards which have let in the cedar roots.

The boards at the bottom of the bin were starting to rot but I hadn't realized that the bottom board on the back had popped out, spilling compost out the back and providing an avenue for the cedar trees to make their way into my compost!  From the size of the roots I chopped off, they had been in for a couple of years.

First on the agenda was removing the compost.  The bin is a 2-section compost box.  I first removed and sifted from the right-hand side which contained my finished compost.  And it was full of roots.  I got a whole wheel barrow full of cedar roots from this section.

Cedar roots!

Then I mostly emptied the left-hand section which was compost in the making.  The material which was the least broken down was piled on the grass.  That which was partially composted went on a tarp next to it.  When the compost bin has been rebuilt, the roughest material will go on the bottom of one side followed by the most broken down on the top.  This side was well-populated with worms, both the normal earthworms and red wigglers, and the cedar roots had only just started to creep in.  Notably, the side filled with roots had hardly any worms at all.

When most of the material was removed, my husband was free to deconstruct the bin.

Deconstruction of the compost bin

Some of the boards can be re-used, but posts and some planks will need replacing.  Luckily we have the materials on hand.  Stay tuned for Part Two!

Invasive Cedar Roots!

One of the reasons for gardening in concrete raised beds is that we have nearby cedar trees.  They are thirsty trees and the roots are continually seeking out moisture and nutrients.  Before we put our compost bin on a concrete base, the cedar roots were in there immediately!  Concrete raised beds with concrete bottoms and drainage hoses solved out gardening problems.  Well, at least we thought so!

Unfortunately,  the cedar trees managed to find tiny cracks in the bases of two beds.  This means that each year before planting, I have to dig out the areas of the beds they've managed to broach and cut out the roots.  They do manage to re-establish themselves, but at least I've minimized the damage.

Today I tackled the first bed.  This one grew a super tomato crop last year and this year I'll be planting onions in it.  The roots are all coming up the one side of the bed, so I dig all the soil away from that side and expose the roots.

Soil pulled from the side of the bed to expose the roots

Once the roots are visible, I cut them off with a knife.  Then I can shovel all the soil back in place and the bed is ready for another year.

Sneaky cedar roots creeping in!

A pile of cedar roots removed from the raised bed

In the next day or so, I'll do the second bed.  This is the last one we built, but the cedar roots got into it right away.  It's been a very wet winter so far, but when I turned over some of the soil a couple of weeks ago, it was quite dry underneath the top - that's the cedar roots!

And now on a happy note!  A number of years ago, I brought home some camas lily seeds.  I scattered them on the rocky hillside below the garden plateau.  The first year I saw a few brave green spikes but forgot all about them.  I've never seen flowers yet, but this year there are lots of camas lily leaves.  Maybe this will be the year we see flowers.

Camas Lily leaves

This hillside is wild and we just cut down the weeds and grass when it gets too high.  It never gets watered.  But there are the camas lilies just below the top!