Back to Basics

It appears that the only way to have healthy soil that plants thrive in is to get back to the basics.

First my soil here is sand which is alkaline and mainly without any nutrients. So it stands to reason that my options are either buying the soil (potting mix) from a retail store (an assault against my frugal nature) or improving my own with organic material .

The answer that might work is to save my yard trash into a compost pile and use the finished organic matter heavily mixed with my sand as a growing medium. What is to lose in trying. If it works I gain not having to buy other peoples dirt (commercial potting mix) and pay the state of Florida sales tax. As an added plus I can dispose of my yard trash into the compost bin and not have to bag it and take it out for the trash.

Its organic, saves money on buying soil and trash bags and recycles my own trash. Sounds like a victory for the little man. What could be better its a win win proposition. It only remains to take the plunge.

The first step is research looking up compost bins on the web. After viewing some on the web and seeing their prices (wow) I decided to make my own.

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A quick trip to Home Depot got me some chicken wire and four 2x4x 8foot boards. I buried the 2x4's half way into the ground with my post hole digger and wrapped the chicken wire around it.



Quick , simple and fairly cheap. I'm going to name this the poor mans compost bin.
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Note: Four feet into the ground for the posts sounds like excess but one must remember that in South Florida things tend to blow away with each passing hurricane.
... sanddune....
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NOTE: GOT A GOOD IDEA THAT CAN HELP ME TURN MY YARD INTO AN URBAN OASIS? YOUR COMMENTS, IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED, THANKS.
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