Heeeyho Readers! More updates from our little ranch!
"F#$K! Lemme grab that huge ass lever and you'll see," — said sweaty angry Mr.P
Those were the words before going into the shed to find our sturdy wooden lever. The worst task at the ranch is removing old posts to relocate our fencing. It feels like a gigantic waste of energy. A lot of energy! But someone's gotta do it, and we don't have the brute force of a tractor, so... I take it easy on this dull task to avoid exhausting myself and take the time to check our compost.
Compost after a few wees
At the moment of writing, our compost is over a month old. The previously-added chicken manure is completely mixed and there's no sign of kitchen waste in the mix. It still looks way too grassy, which may take too long to decompose as we head into the winter. Moisture feels right according to the squeeze method.
Compost
Moisture
I decide to add more browns (dry cow dung) to counter the amount of greens, but soon realize cow poop is also green.
Is dry cow dung green or brown?
Our compost is not scientifically measured and monitored (far from that), so a bit more of this and that wont hurt. Besides, cow dung is always a great fertilizer. To the field I go after the stinky hand grenades.
Cow poop
Chopping
After a bit of chop-chop, the grenades are ready to go into the compost box. Allow me to share some info on cow dung.
Cow manure contains about 3 percent nitrogen, 2 percent phosphorus, and 1 percent potassium (3-2-1 NPK). It's also high in ammonia and potentially dangerous pathogens. For this reason, it’s usually recommended that it be aged or composted prior to using as fertilizer. — Gardening Know How
The good thing is that we lease the field to a neighbor, so cow dung is plenty and free to use. Win, win!
Mixed vs. To be mixed
Lastly, I mix the dung with all the rest. It's just a matter of adding water once in a while and waiting. We keep on adding kitchen waste every day; our production isn't large though.
Bananas
I finally move to clean our banana trees. The dead leaves annoy me and the overall look around the trees isn't great either. Did you know that a banana tree produces only once? I didn't. That means I can also remove leaves from trees that will be chopped soon; they need to give room for newborn trees. Unfortunately there's no before and after pics, as I always like to post.
Banana trees
Another bunch of bananas appeared after cleaning. So far we have three (bunches?) and another smaller one. It does take a lot of time for them to mature though and, with winter approaching, we may need to speed up that process by covering the bananas in bags. Let's see.
Ba
Nana
Clear of stress, important tasks completed. It's time to move to that nasty stone post that refuses to move. This is the kind of job that the angrier one becomes, the stiffer the post feels. Like magic. Only if I had dynamite I'd explode the post into space and use the hole for a new pond.
Fucking
Bastard
You have to trust me that I removed that bastard, because I don't have pictures to prove. There's only a dozen more to go {laughs of despair}. This sums a day at the ranch. In the end, it feels great to work hard, take a nice hot shower and stare at the sunset knowing that the day was productive.
I hope you've enjoyed this post. Love you all.
Peace.
Did you know that I have a book out? Check this!
Access Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/6500272773?
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~Love ya all,
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
