What We have been up to…
The cure for your compost
It’s tempting to spread compost out before it’s fully cured. Let’s take a look at how long it really takes to cure and things to look out for.
Straightening the Hay from the Straw
Straw and hay are often used interchangeably but are quite different products and play different roles in our compost piles. Let’s see why.
Reflections of a composter, Melinda
This week we bid farewell to our very first composter, Melinda Jane, who reflects on her experience as a YIMBY composter.
The big chop
It’s important to chop our compost ingredients fine enough so that they have the right consistency to break down perfectly in our compost piles. See what we use at YIMBY as a perfect chopping tool.
Continuous Hot Compost Workshop
Learn how to make really good compost with our innovative YIMBY ‘Continuous Hot Compost’ method. Join Joel Meadows and Mikaela Beckley for this 3hr intensive, hands-on composting workshop. Saturday Feb 17, 9.30-12.30pm, Castlemaine.
Taking your compost’s temperature
If you want to hot compost and get your compost to heat up to at least 55o Celsius for at least 3 days, there are a few ways you can check its daily temperature.
The dirt on compost forks
When it comes to the work of composting, forks are the tool of choice. There are three broad fork categories; garden, pitch and manure/mulch. Let’s have a little dig around and see what we find.
The compost screw. What a corker?
With it’s large corkscrew-like shape, the compost screw is designed to be twisted into an active compost pile. Some find it too heavy to use. At YIMBY it’s an indispensable tool for taking core samples.
do we want Free carbon?
Paper and cardboard are readily available, free ingredients that are easy additions to our compost piles, and are very high in carbon - paper has around 175 parts of carbon to one-part nitrogen, and cardboard around 350:1!
microbes: Actino-what?
Have you ever discovered an ashy, white, filamentous fungi-looking thing in your compost pile? What is it?
YIMBY in the News…
Click on image to read
Community Composters Information Evening
A great success
In Feb 2023 we held an information evening for people interested in joining YIMBY as community composters. We were overwhelmed by the turn out and enthusiasm.
We are now in the midst of training new composters! Yay…
Past Yimby Workshops and events
May Workshop
Want to take your composting to the next level? Or, been composting for years and are ready to shake things up a bit? Joel Meadows will take you on a deep dive into what is happening inside that pile, why some composts are so much better than others and how you can tune your compost to your garden’s needs. Be ready to get up close and personal with some magic decomposition.
When - Sun 1st May 10am to 3pm
Lunch included, craft activities for young composters.
Where - 171 Duke street Castlemaine
Cost - $40
April Workshop
Just starting out in composting, or had a go, but feel like you could do with a boost? This is the workshop for you! Joel Meadows will take you through the theory and practice of hot composting with lots of hands-on learning, making a pile and playing with a range of compost ingredients, recipes and approaches.
When - Tue 12th of April 10am to 1pm
Where - 171 Duke street Castlemaine
Cost - $15