Thursday, April 2, 2015

It's that time again

Spring is trying really hard to begin here. There are few tentative buds on the trees. My hops have been covered in snow several times just like last year. It also seems that they have been the victim of something trying to dig them up. I'm tempted to blame the dog as his paw prints were everywhere but he's not really that much of a digger. He was probably just investigating upheaval in his back yard:


Fortunately, it's time to give them some more compost which will help to cover any exposed roots. The compost has been collecting all year and even contains a good amount of spent grain. All very cycle of life. It does seem somewhat magical that biodegradable material goes in the top and compost come out the bottom:
 

To give a great looking (if somewhat pungent) dark compost:


You may be able to spot the odd eggshell in there. We've also been adding avocado stones and skins which really don't seem to break down much, although I suspect they leach all sorts of nutrient goodness into everything around them. There was also a wriggle of worms (yes I had to look that up but I'm glad I did). Worms in compost are apparently a very good thing. Here's the end result:


The pungent smell passed in a couple of days. Now I'm just looking forward to seeing shoots come up through. No sign just yet but I'm hopeful it will happen very shortly.

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