Rejoice with me and my 30 yards of compost just delivered! This is proof that I still have optimism and hope for future gardening.

Wow! Now that's the way to "make" compost!

Now lest you think I'm a complete cheater, I should say that we have a lot of homegrown compost piles going here, as well. I'll take everything I can get, even the imported stuff.

I totally understand. I have a compost pile, but it's never enough for what I need to do. I have to buy a truck full from a nursery here in town each spring, or drive to the dump to get it. That way, it's instant garden beds with a little left over to restart my compost pile.

Congratulations on your purchase Dave, that is quite a treasure

I LOVE compost...looks good! It has been hard to make any this year. The critters get in the compost pile and leave me almost nothing. Between them and extreme heat, my earthworms are about all gone!

That is a wonderful sight. No matter how much compost I make and /or buy, there is never enough.Same goes for mulch. Do you have a special project in mind?

Ahhhhhh.........the things one can do with such a pile ........must say,...I'm envious! Can't wait to see what y'all create and grow....on down the road....maybe some chronological pics......Hmmmmmm?

We got a load of this last year and used it to do all our gardens around the house and my metal workshop building. After that we used the last bit just here and there.

This new pile is earmarked for a new garden we'll be building around the barn that's going to hopefully be built soon. The garden will be about 40' by 100' and will be quite extensive and dramatic. I have to first build the barn.

I got on a waiting list to get this compost, about 3 months ago. I was surprised by a phone call that it was coming in 30 minutes after the call. So, the pile will have to sit and wait until I get the barn built.

So much to do...

Yes, but such great plans

A barn! Will it be a small barn...or a big one?

It's going to be fairly near the house, so while I'd love to have a big barn I don't want to overwhelm our yard, so it'll be fairly small.

My original desire was a 36x36 "monitor barn" with a central area with an above floor for storing my square bales of hay, and two sides.

The new idea is something more like a 20x30 barn, still with a second floor for hay.

Here is what I'm looking at so far:



What is stopping me so far is I'm not yet 100% settled on the floor plan. The primary purpose will be to store hay, provide an indoor place for milking our cow, and have a room with electricity and water for cleaning up after milking and also storing milk in a fridge.

Beyond that, I want to be able to keep chickens in there from time to time (especially meat birds) as well as rabbits and perhaps even a room for hogs to come in out of the sun.

So, it's a lot of uses and I'm trying to maximize the space in my design... It's a real challenge!

That sounds great Dave!!! and yes quite a challenge, but I am sure you can handle it.

I am sure you approached and ran your fingers through it!! Love the texture of nice compost, and the rich smell of it too!

I wish I could help you build your barn.

I do, too!!