What should compost smell like?

[Worth1]

No that is the length of the handles that you buy separate for them.
The end isn't eve in the pictuer.

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Attachment 71463

my dad made a similar hoe out of used disk blades, like in below pic.
I always wondered what you'd call it; I can rem. almost taking my foot off several times!

[Rockporter]

Look at these hoe's.


https://roguehoe.com/gardening/

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Rockporter

Look at these hoe's.


https://roguehoe.com/gardening/

I have seen them before they are too light.
Mine is heavy a design that goes back many years maybe hundreds.
Worth

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by pecker88

my dad made a similar hoe out of used disk blades, like in below pic.
I always wondered what you'd call it; I can rem. almost taking my foot off several times!

American ingenuity!. I bet it was harder than the hubs! I love repurposing. . Jimbo

[Rockporter]

I'm hoping for a decent amount of rain to soften the soil so I can dig out those weeds from my compost pile. So far, no rain seen though it was supposed to be here last night and all day.

[loulac]

Originally Posted by Rockporter

Look at these hoe's.
https://roguehoe.com/gardening/

It's interesting to discover what tools are popular in different places. Most tools shown in that catalogue are new to me. The most common gardening tools used by gardeners in my area are those, with different sizes, with a handle 1.10 meter long ( (3ft 7') or 1.30 meter ( 4ft 3') chosen by very tall people. We are far from Worth's hoe...

[Rockporter]

I got this shovel, perfect length and I have used it once when I first got it. Didn't have that weed issue in my compost then. So, this shovel will be put to use when I can get some good rain out there to soak it really well.


http://www.spearheadspade.com/

[Rockporter]

Argh! Only got about 15 minutes of rain today and it's not enough to soften that soil out there to work with. At least for me, hubby could do it in a heartbeat, but I don't want him to have to take care of that for me. Hoping for more rain in the next couple of days.

[Worth1]

I got 1 1/2 inches here at the house.
Seems like everybody is trying to reinvent the shovel and hoes.

[loulac]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I got 1 1/2 inches here at the house.
Seems like everybody is trying to reinvent the shovel and hoes.

Why not ? According to Wikipedia (French edtion) hoes have been in existence since neolithic times. All improvements and variations are welcome !
All the best

[Rockporter]

Wow, I have the greatest husband in the world. I woke up this morning to a weed free compost pile. He said he's mowing so decided to go inside the cage and take care of the weeds for me first. What a great guy he is. He piled everything into the middle, it's all mixed up and looks awesome. My compost doesn't smell, it is awesome. Now if I can figure out how to keep the weeds from growing into the compost pile. It's the runners that do it.

[Worth1]

Keep a "no mans land" around the pile.

Worth

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by brownrexx

Many of my organic gardening buddies use corn glutein for an organically approved pre emergent. I have not tried it myself but it is said to work on crabgrass. Crabgrass is an annual and comes back the following year from this year's seeds. Crabgrass is really bad here but mostly in our yards. I don't have it in my garden or compost pile.

You will still need to pull the grass this year but it should prevent the seeds from sprouting. I am not familiar with your growing season so I do not know when the seeds sprout there.

I think I am picking up some corn gluten for the compost pile edging. That should do it!

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by pecker88

Get some good 'ol fashioned Glyphosate, AKA Roundup and mix it strong. Wait for a bright sunny day and spray the crap out of all the grass/weeds around the compost pile. After 4 hours everything will be wilted. 2 days later it will all be toasted brown. Problem solved.

The great thing about Glyphosate is that it has a half life of 40 days (in the soil), but in TX it's been shown to break down in soil after just 3 days! i.e. microbes in the soil readily break down the chemical thus "inactivating" it.

Another plus is that it does not drift, or vaporize like 2,4D. So, even if you hit your compost pile with the Roundup, it will be totally fine to use in your garden as long as you wait a few weeks. Up here on the prairie, the wind is usually 15-30mph daily, and I've never had Roundup drift. Now, you obviously don't want to spray during a 15 mph wind, but usually early in the morning it's calm for an hour, great time for Roundup spraying.

No roundup in my yard, the wind never really stops here and I don't spray any herbicides, all pellets.