The Great Gardening of 2025 – Part 17 – Mixin’ Muck

Soooo. Yesterday I turned the muck pile. I wanted to do it today, but I changed that plan. Tomorrow I am leaving for a few-day’s trip and I did want to be at least a bit rested before the several hours-long drive.

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When turning the pile, there were visibly different forms of decomposition taking place. There were hot spots, all wet and mushy. And there were also cold spots, full of white fungal growth. It was visible that the pile was unevenly watered, which is understandable since I was watering it with cans without the shower spout. Looking at it and realizing that even the dry-ish spots are actually decomposing in the environment made me think that an inconsistently wetted compost pile is perhaps not a bad thing. The wet spots get hot and decompose, and the dry spots allow for gas exchange with the environment. It still had 50-70 °C all over before I turned it and mixed it anew, and since it was cold outside, visible steam rose from it. Unfortunately, I was unable to take a picture of that.

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In the days before that, I prepared this, the bean-growing patch. I tilled a grid of 25 squares, approx 50×50 cm, spaced approx 50 cm so I can go between them with a lawn mower. That took me several days since the lawn is tough. Not only due to the ancient grass-growth, but also due to the high content of quartz stones. A fact of which I will never cease to remind you. I collected two full 10 l buckets of stones over 2 cm in diameter.

When the squares were tilled, I planted tall poplar poles in each corner, and I bound the tips over them. I stripped the bark from the poles at about 20 cm at the bottom, and I left them dry for a few weeks before planting them so they do not take root.

I can plant up to two bean plants near each pole and a few corn plants along the edges, too. In the middle, I plan to plant pumpkins. This is an experimental patch for the “tree sisters” system. All three plants should be able to grow fast enough to outgrow the weeds and the grass in the tilled patches. We will see how that goes. At least for the beans, this system is actually tested, and they should thrive in the grass. I am growing beans in the grass for years by now, on the south wall of my house.

I still have about 80 poles left unplanted. I can either put them somewhere dry to save them for next year, or I can make another patch. I still have plenty of unused space left. I will decide what to do when I return from my trip.

TNET 49: Full Auto Crossbow

This is a really interesting video from a craftsmanship and engineering point of view. I have been tempted to try to build a crossbow for decades now. I will probably never do it, because of time, but it is a challenge I would like to take on.

Crossbows are, of course, weapons, and as such, they are subject to some regulation in most civilized countries.

In CZ, any crossbow can be bought, built, and owned by anyone over the age of 18.  Crossbows with a spanning force under 150 N can be legally openly carried and fired anywhere without any regulations. They are still considered a weapon, though, and if someone gets hurt, there are appropriate consequences. Crossbows with higher spanning force, such as this one, can be owned by anyone, but they can be transported only unloaded, in an enclosed container, and they can only be fired at a range or a fenced-off area inaccessible to the public and in a way that there is no danger to the public.

Open thread, talk whatevah, just don’t be an *hole.

Previous thread.

The Great Gardening of 2025 – Part 16 – Now We’re Cooking With Grass

This morning, the heap sagged visibly, and I measured the temperature at multiple spots all around. The lowest reading I got was 54°C. The highest was:

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70°C is enough to cause injury. Now, in the evening, there is not a green spot anywhere on the heap. That means the grass and moss are really cooked and thus dead. I will now leave it be for at least a few days. It might stink up a bit, but as I said, I do not mind the smell all that much. It also means I won’t be writing about the muck heap for a bit either.

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I forgot to take a picture of the solitary tulip in my strawberry patch. This is the only tulip that survived the onslaught of voles. Tulip bulbs are, apparently, a favourite vole snack.

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The cherries blossomed. I do hope they bear some fruit. I need to know what type of cherry this is. You might remember that I had to fell a sick cherry tree several years ago. I do not know if that tree was grafted or not, but a year later, new trees sprouted what seems to be its root system. If it bears the same fruit as the former tree, no further action on my part is needed. If it bears different fruit, I might need to try to graft it with something useful. It would definitely be a shame to have a root system capable of surviving voles and not use it.

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The first bean variety seems to be taking off in a big way, which is good. These are pole beans for fresh, yellow pods.