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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Leslie wrote:

> Bev - In your raised beds,,,, is there any kind of chopping up being 
> done of what is being thrown in, or just throw things in.

It depends on where it is going.  In my box beds, no, I don't chop
anything up because part of the purpose is to provide air pockets and
take up space.  Things compost in place, and I stir up the top layers
with a hand cultivator when I transplant stuff into the bed.  Some of
the beds are thigh high.  I put rocks in the bottom...serves multiple
purposes...adds drainage, takes up space, gives me something to do with
rocks I find in the garden soil, holds down the wire in the bottom of
the beds, etc.  Then, I put the sticks and limbs in...just dead fall,
the stuff that I end up picking up after every storm.  I have also put
sawdust, shopvac waste, you name it in this level...I think of it as
things that are long term composting stuff...brown stuff...stuff that
will take a while to decompose and pack down.  Half the bed or more is
filled that way.  Then, I put on the top, hay, grass clippings, kitchen
waste, egg shells, coffee grounds, dead mice<g>, leaves, chicken poop,
rabbit poop, etc. etc...  Sometimes, if the bed is to be for direct
seeding instead of for transplanting, I will either put a thin layer of
finished compost on the top, OR I will put a thin layer of topsoil on
the top...just something fine to hold fine seeds like carrots or
radishes or lettuces.

Now, if the beds are full, and I don't need anything, I put the limbs
and stuff in my compost bin proper.  Since that gets turned, I do break
up the limbs and stuff into smaller pieces, but I don't chip it or
anything.  I could, but the chipper always seems to need carburetor
work and so I just don't worry about it.  If I did chip it, it would
make it easier to turn and aerate as well as speed the production of
compost.

Bev
--
“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to
hate. Hate leads to suffering.”        Yoda