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No I know we don't have chipmunks here. How big are they anyway - like a squirrel?
I've just been reading Four Seasons Harvest by Eliot Coleman and one of the ingredients in his compost is the odd dead chipmunk. He also mentioned bread along with the kitchen scraps. It got me thinking. We are always told not to put such things as meat cooked food and bread in the compost to avoid attracting rats. Since rats are omnivorous anyway, will it make any difference what you put in so long as it rots down. The rat would have to be in the garden in any case even if your compost is vegetarian, and I can't see a hungry rat turning its nose up at a free snack in a warm compost heap.
What do you think?
He also mentions that he spreads about a 1" layer of compost over his plot and just works it into the top two inches and lets the worms etc. do the rest. He doesn't walk on the soil to avoid compacting it, and instead of digging he aerates the whole plot once a year with a broad fork. This is 2 ft wide with five tines and two handles instead of one in the middle. He says you can use an ordinary fork, but the special one is good fun and you can feel how easy it is to use something designed for the specific purpose. You just stick it in and ease it backwards lifting the soil a bit but not turning it. I know the no-dig principle, but hadn't heard about the aerating idea he uses.
Philomel and Sorgina would find the book interesting as he talks about a fact finding trip he did in Southern France on their vegetable growing practices and types of crops. Apparently Maine where he lives is on the same latitude as the south of France. He was fascinated by the seed business of Jean-Luc Danneyrolles, Le Potager d'un Curieux and waxes lyrical about the variety and quality of his produce.
Just thought I would share this with you. Must get my act together it is seed sowing day in the greenhouse today. As it is raining and a bit warmer the greenhouse is the ideal place. I'm much later getting started than usual this year as it has been so cold and dark I couldn't see much point in starting anything off, even in the propagator. Right, I will see which runs out first, my compost or the daylight!
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