What should compost smell like? - Page 4

Worth1 · April 10, 2017

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

pecker88 · April 10, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

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 · April 10, 2017

Look at these hoe's.

https://roguehoe.com/gardening/

Worth1 · April 10, 2017

Quote:

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 · April 10, 2017

Quote:

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 · April 10, 2017

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 · April 11, 2017

Quote:

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 · April 11, 2017

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 · April 12, 2017

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 · April 12, 2017

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

loulac · April 13, 2017

Quote:

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 · April 15, 2017

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 · April 15, 2017

Keep a "no mans land" around the pile.

Worth

Rockporter · April 15, 2017

Quote:

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 · April 15, 2017

Quote:

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.

April 10, 2017	#48
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	Look at these hoe's. https://roguehoe.com/gardening/ __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

April 10, 2017	#51
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	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. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

April 11, 2017	#53
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	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/ __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

April 12, 2017	#54
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	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. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

April 15, 2017	#57
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	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. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

April 10, 2017	#46
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	No that is the length of the handles that you buy separate for them. The end isn't eve in the pictuer.