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Black Gold: Profiting from the community compost site

  • May 15, 2014
  • 2 comments
  • 34 views
  • Rory

Good dirt is hard to find.

Last year I filled four raised beds one shovelful at a time with dirt from our recently plowed field. It was possibly the most backbreaking work I’ve encountered (so far). This year I’m building four more raised beds that also need to be filled. And even though we have access to a front-loading tractor, my field is planted so I don’t have a good source of free dirt anymore. I was looking into having a truckload of dirt delivered when I found out about a community compost site nearby. I decided to check it out.

I wasn’t expecting much. I’ve seen community sites before. If you’re lucky and its not too late in the season you might get a few loads of dirt you can use. So I just about fell out of my seat when I arrived and saw the sheer size of this pile. It was at least 12 feet tall and stretched for 50 yards. All free for the taking!

The operation is something to behold. Residents are stopping by continuously unloading yard waste at one end of the site. There is row upon row of decomposing matter. The last of which is fully composted and ready for harvest.

This is the good stuff too. Rich, loamy compost. Black gold. I set to work with my pitchfork and shovel and loaded my truck bed to capacity. Back home, little helpers were eager to help daddy unload into the garden.

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Rory

Rory Groves moved his family from the city to the country several years ago to begin the journey towards a more durable way of life. Rory and his wife Becca now reside in southern Minnesota where they farm, raise livestock, host workshops, and homeschool their six children. He is the author of Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time.

Tags
  • Compost
  • raised beds
  • Soil


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  1. Pingback: Building raised bed gardens, step-by-step | The Grovestead
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