Turn, Turn, Turn

Time is turning into another season.  This weekend has been beautiful warm Fall weather, the kind that's perfect for getting a few things done outside.  

We've already had many nights of freezing weather so the garden has pretty much died as you can see from this picture of what used to be our tomatoes.  Sigh. 

 






So my job this weekend was to take out all the dead garden plants and get them into the compost bins.  It's not a difficult job but it takes a little time.  It always makes me a little sad, though.  It's the end of our fresh garden food.  Oh, there are still carrots, beets, and parsnips for Fall food but it's time to move on.  

 Of course, like every other task around here, it became complicated.  Paul has been talking for a couple of years about making new boards for the compost bins.  The old ones are breaking and have gaps that are too big and stuff falls out of.  He decided that this weekend would be the time to take them on.  

 
Now we have lovely new boards that resemble Lincoln logs.  They are made out of old cedar siding that Paul had stored in the barn.  They really do look much better and are sturdier. 

The other offshoot of redoing the compost boards is that we had to turn over the compost and found lots of lovely soil to spread on the newly bared garden beds.   It never ceases to amaze me that all those kitchen scraps and dead plant parts turn into such beautiful dirt!  It's the ultimate recycling!