Final installment! For now, anyway.

Last steps of prepping the planters is to place a the cloth over the stones to prevent soil escaping the planter. You can also use any old rag that comes to hand, or dryer fluff if it doesn’t.

I put the lid back on to stop the local wildlife from stealing the cloth.

Why not just put cloth in the bottom, you may ask. Well, stones aid drainage and give water a path to escape. The plants I’m planning to put in those pots are ones that like dryer roots.

If you don’t like the idea of using rocks at all, try it with mesh and cloth [trust me, you NEED the mesh!] and share your results. I’d be interested to know the outcome.

Next step: Making soil.

You need a compost tumbler - they’re available in all sizes at big garden shops - a source of mulch, and a LOT of time.

Step 1: Gather household organic waste. Do not gather things like bones or plastics as they do not rot as easily as the rest of it. As a general rule, if it’s soft and goes rotten, it’s mulch/compost.
Step 2: If possible, gather lawn clippings. If not possible, any old source of cellulose will do. Old newspapers, shredded junk mail, you name it. You need cellulose to absorb the moisture from the other organic wastes.
Step 3: Place in tumbler and tumble. This is some lawn clippings I put in the previous day. As you can see, they still resemble lawn clippings.
Step 4: Add more. Often. In goes the assembled organic waste from today.

Compost takes a LOT of time. Most compost-tumblers I’ve seen have little grilles placed in their construction somewhere for the finished compost to fall out. Just place a convenient vessel underneath and you’re set to gather the compost when it’s ready.

We used an old kiddies’ wheelbarrow that was lying around neglected. You can use anything you please.

According to the instructions for my model, a proper compost can take as little as six days to create. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Compost is, in essence, a very rich soil that plants adore. If you’re planting carrots, you may want to mix in some bark-chip potting mix to prevent mutant carrots from forming.

Me, I don’t give a pink flying crap about getting mutant carrots. For me, that’s more carrot for the buck.

More on my little eco-garden when events dictate. 

Placed over the stones

Lid on to stop the birds

Mulch in process. Household organics...

Plus lawn clippings...

Interior of compost tumbler day 1

Adding the contents gathered today