The trouble with the average home compost pile is 'there's really never enough'. So if the need is greater in spring than at other times, hold onto what you've got and use it wisely and when you apprecitate it more. Speaking of provincial flowers, my brother was born in Saskatchewan, grew up in Ontario, joined the Canadian Navy and was ready to retire to Nova Scotia where his wife of 65 years was born and raised. He has a flag pole like a ship's mast and flies three emblems...for Saskatchewan, for Ontario and for Nova Scotia. One day, in his postal box, he was left a message by some illiterate....who suggested he stop flying flags of foreign countries. Boy was he mad! He left a note hoping the person would come back and leave something and maybe find something for him...a picture of all the flags of the provinces and their provincial flowers. No, the guy didn't stop by which still infuriates my brother. Occasionally he flies the flags of Canada and the U.S....we have a sister-in-law from Brewer, Maine and he is most proud when he flies the Navy flag, the White Emblem....red cross on a white field with the Jack in the corner. He's waiting for the guy to leave another message about flying the flag of the U.K.

Thanks for the comments guys. Lloyd, I figure I am already outgrown on this as a single unit for what we are looking to do for spring. Been quite some time since we gardened and this last year we did maybe 500 sq ft, well we caught the bug and have seeded up for next year now we are committed to getting beds ready to go. Half a dozen or so of these is what I will be looking at and at that point should be able to get a wheelbarrow or garden tractor trailer of compost each time we put out new plants. This first year coming up I dont expect too much but hope to have an abundance of prime material after that. We are working on several fronts for biomass material, comfrey, chinese sumac and japanese empress for coppicing ramial wood and green manure in the form of buckwheat and other cover crops we are establishing as pastures for the chickens. If we can generate enough mass through these to add to the garden cleanup we might have a chance at keeping up with the rate at which the sand swallows soil around here. Grubby, yep... poor kids. Think I will hold off on the name, someone probably has a patent on the design though I did not see much of anything. I have a couple of round wire bins but have not been real happy with how fast they dry out. Dont think the air through the bottom will hurt too much with the solid sides. I hear ya on clipping the screws and have a couple of those 4 1/4" angle grinders that see serious use. I wrote the above with the intent that anyone with limited tools could do the same. Bought a pack of short 5/16" self tapping screws for putting this together so i dont think I will have any trouble there. Considered using rivets but figured that would be be too much work. As far as the bottom access. Seems like those who have been there found it not so much to their liking. This is some food for thought. Not having done this yet my impression was that what spilled out the bottom would be easy to fork up either into a trailer or barrow or back into the top to circulate back through. Not as young or go getter as I once was but can still make things move pretty well when needed so if its a matter of required effort then I can handle that for the foreseeable future. Was also thinking this could be modified with an auger down the center to make it self turning and probably something I would tinker with down the road. Pretty much what I am thinking on the pile dynamic (passive/static). Not after an 18 day hot pile but dont want to wait a year either so middle of the road warm pile is where I would like to land. If it ends up stable enough so that earthworms will hang out so much the better. As with all things its all about the tryin, as much as you can read and learn the real education begins when the boots hit the ground.

I tried a lot of composter ideas including the rolling kind once you start filling them with dirt and other materials they get very heavy and when all the wight is settled in the bottom it takes super human streingth to get it rolling. I tried wooden 4 Ft sq bins with chicken wire on the sides but this type of pile needs to be turned and as i am wheelchair boud its very difficult. What i have settled on is a pre made i got from Lowes (40.00) it has 4 openings at the bottom. As made it not much good really not much different thad a plastic barrel. But on each side there are evenly spaced holes. I placed rods through these holes at the lowest level in the front hole out the back then i laid hardware cloth cut to size ove the the rods. now as i add the various layers of dirt, leaves ect. the pile remains on the hardware cloth until it has rotted enough to pass through the cloth. By this time it is well composted and ready to use. There is no bottom to the composter so the compost has contact with the ground and worms will probably invade the pile. Adding coffee to the pile will attract worms but to jump start the vermaculture i went to a bait store and bought some worms and introduced them to the pile. incidentally the addition of any kind of nitrogen is helpful for compost if you do not want to buy it simply pee on the pile as urine is high in nitrogen. Good Luck PS I am thinking of adding perforated PVC into the pile to increase decomposition (The more air the better)

Hi Larry the mulch is labeled "Native Texas shredded hardwood mulch", and is locally produced by Austin Wood Recycling. I believe it is mostly ashe juniper that has been run through a chipper/shredder twice to get that consistency. It's ubiquitous here; we can buy it in bulk or bags from local gardening centers. It's soft to the touch, with pieces up to 2" long, but thin and flexible, similar in consistency to some cypress mulches I have seen. Perhaps that's more available in your area? and hello again, steamyb, you got right on that! Yeah, they are heavy; be good to your back moving it around. Sorry to hear the sinks have gotten pricey. They are pretty sturdy, though, and have held up well for years now. Don't know if you have a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in your area, but if so, they might be a good resource for a used one. When I was a kid going to the lakes in east Texas, it seems like a lot of gas stations sold worms for fishing bait, and had long, galvanized troughs to raise them in. I would love to get my hands on one of those one day! Or one of those old Coca Cola drink coolers to sell cokes on ice; anything built to last with a drain in it. Guess you could even use an old bathtub if you had a way to get it up high enough and make it look presentable. Just a little harder to build a nice screen with the rounded corners. (I'll bet my aesthetics-conscious husband just felt a ripple in the force and cringed without even knowing why!) Would love to hear how these work out for both of you. cheers, Cathy