Rotating & pallet compost bins

Over the past year we found out that the standard black compost units sold by the city were challenging to keep wet enough and turn correctly. The first solution that I came across was a rotating compost bin, taking the displeasure out of trying to turn the compost. I bought the 50 gallon plastic drum for $20, while all of the rest of the materials were repurposed from our deck for my friend Mark. Since my friend Mark, owner of Worms @ Work, and I built the rotating bin I have added 5 handles on the outside of the drum to assist in turning more easily and 1/2" holes to assist in draining and aeration.

For ease of use and to keep feedback in the system we placed the new composter near our patio door. So far so good!

The other system that we added is the 4 pallet compost bin. In my Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course, we learned that an optimal size for a compost bin is 1 meter squared which is conveniently the same size as most pallets. Using some repurposed rebar hammered in the ground to hold the pallets vertical, the system placed in the back alley was ready to go within 20 minutes. As we were building the system, our neighbour who likes to be around when work is being done, happened to be trimming his trees before he came over to check out what we were doing. I asked if we could use the trash bin full of green material for starting the pile (to rescue it from the landfill), he gladly agreed. Since then, we have saved 2 bags of grass clippings and other branches from the landfill. The pallet composter has proved far superior to the black compost bin from the city.

Cover crops

We learned of permaculture for the first time from our friend, Teresa. Frankly, I am surprised that we did not learn about it sooner when we were living in Oregon for three years. The moment that we learned the basics of permaculture it just seemed to make sense and fit our goals perfectly. Organically growing your own food, designing your landscape so it needs minimum human input, and caring for the environment all at the same time resonated deeply with us.

Any time that there was a speaker giving a talk for low or no cost regarding permaculture, we went to listen. Rob from Verge Permaculture and Adrian from Big Sky Permaculture spoke often about breaking our dependance on industrial food systems, earth repair, building community, and supporting local economy. Every time we heard Rob and Adrain talk, we learned something new. One night in spring of 2010, at a talk by Adrian, he talked about the importance of planting cover crops and mulching your garden to retain moisture and nutrients in the soil. With this new knowledge, we planted a cover crop of field peas in the spring after the snow had melted.

As the cover crop grows, you should "chop and drop" the plant to release the nitrogen into the soil and provide biomass to the soil. We planted so many peas that were coming up all over the garden, that we had to chop quite frequently and some peas got a bit out of hand. From the tangled mass of peas that were growing up through the strawberry netting, we harvested lots of beautiful purple flowers, tendrils and peas which made an impressive salad for parties.

This year, we noticed a fair number of dandelions in the garden which indicates compacted soil. Knowing this, we planted daikon radish seeds for a cover crop this year instead of the peas. Sadly, the daikon greens are not nearly as tasty as the peas were though!

This just in from Verge!

The beginning....

One year after moving to Calgary from Eugene, Oregon, we determined that we were here to stay (despite the "challenging" growing climate). Knowing that we wanted to settle down in Calgary, we started looking for our first home to buy. There were a few basic criteria: 2+ bedrooms, garage, lots of storage space, close to Tim's job and ample room to garden. This home had everything we wanted but needed lots of fixing. We got the keys to our concrete jungle January 2010.

The backyard was basically all concrete and decking, save a small garden space. As soon as the first good Chinooks came in 2009, we got to work increasing our garden space. Here is what the backyard looked like when we bought the home:

The first project in spring 2010 was to remove the flat deck space. The wood that was removed was reused by us and friends, the rest was given away via Kijiji. Here is the before and after:

The next project was to figure out how to hang clothes outside to dry. We wanted lots of space to hang out at least 2 loads of laundry and for the system to have the capacity to hold heavy items like sleeping bags or comforters. My parents have had a 5 line retractable clothesline for over 20 years, yet I was unable to find such a product in Canada. We ordered a product similar to the previous link from the U.S and installed it between the house and garage.

In permaculture we talk a lot about needs and yields. Clothes drying in our yard is a prime example of this idea: clothes need heat and wind, and concrete yields lots of heat. Our clothes typically dry in 1 hour of being outside in summer. This is one way that we are working with the concrete instead of against it.