Sunday, August 22, 2010

A composting conundrum

I haven't said anything for a little while about my heinous abandonment of my current garden in favour of (considerably larger) pastures new.

The Great Move is however rumbling along behind the scenes, and in fact is now so imminent that we are spending all our time hurling things into skips and filling our living room with cardboard boxes.

Clearing up the garden has however raised a conundrum.

I was going to put a photo of my compost bins at the top of this post by way of illustration but thought I'd spare you that. The thing is, like all good gardeners, I nurse a secret composting obsession and have two fine and large wooden slatted bins.

When told I was taking them both, husband and Removal Van man nodded sagely: large wooden items, especially ones which look quite nice as compost bins go, are apparently acceptable.

However I then added that I was going to bag up the nearly completely rotted compost from one of them, and the not-very-rotted compost from the other, and bring it with me too.

Both husband and Removal Van Man now think I'm utterly, utterly bonkers.

I think a) it's not very welcoming to leave our nice new owners with a big pile of half-rotted guineapig poo and b) I've spent nigh on a year making this compost and I'm damned if I'm going to abandon it now. And besides where I'm going I'll need all the compost I can get.

So: help us out here. What do you think? Am I bonkers? Would you move with your compost tucked in among your furniture? Or would you let it go?

8 comments:

Ms B said...

Bonkers? Yes. Understandable? Yes. It's your compost so you do what you want with it.

Helen/patientgardener said...

I can understand your reasoning but I suspect that if it is anything like my house moves you will run out of time and the idea of spending time bagging compost will become less attractive

Diana Studer said...

We moved, only a few blocks, this time. So yes some half-way compost came with us, in car journeys. But in the removal van - I think you will all regret it. Wonder what you will do??

VP said...

No, it's perfectly reasonable. But then I'm probably bonkers too as I'd do the same!

Su said...

Bonkers? No! I moved a couple of years ago and really regret chucking alot of the stuff I chucked/left behind - so if I were moving again I'd definitely bag it up and move it. As for what they think - let them think you're bonkers if they want to!

The Constant Gardener said...

Thanks all - may go at least partially bonkers and just take the well-rotted stuff then....

but then what do we do with the big pile of half-rotted stuff? What would you think if someone left their semi-rotted compost heap for you? (and I'd have to leave one of my bins then too....)

Plant Mad Nige said...

Not bonkers at all.

The previous occupants of our house apologised profusely to me for the huge pile of horse dung left in the back garden (they kept horses in what is now our garage and store.)

Would we mind awfully if they left it there for us to get rid of, they begged, because otherwise, they didn't really know what to do about it.

Meanwhile, I had wondered how much they wanted for the heap and whether they'd be willing to let me have it cheap. Clearly, one person's waste is another's treasure.

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

No not bonkers, or if you are so am I. I would definitely do the same and my husband would definitely look at me as though I were nuts too.

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