In the garden 23/8/18 (Winter)

While it is technically still wintertime, the weather is already starting to warm up, and the daylight hours are increasing, always good. : )
I've been spending more and more time out in the garden, getting lots done, but also trying to remember that we have to move in 6 months time, and not to get myself too invested.
I would like to get a digital journal thing happening so I can look back and see the progress of things growing during our limited time here, I never get tired of seeing the awesome transformation that occurs as plants grow.

 This is the progress of one of the small veggie beds.
3 April 2018

 10 April 2018

23 August 2018

Everything in this bed has done really well, we got several good harvests of cos lettuce, some are now starting to bolt, & I will save seed once they're ready. The viola(left) & snapdragon(right) flowers are both doing exceptionally well, my love & appreciation for flowers continues to grow. The herbs are also growing happily, the broad beans are flowering vigorously, and the cabbages are getting closer to harvest time.

Here's a closer shot of my biggest cabbage, what a beautiful thing. <3

Not much to see here, yet, but these are full of seeds starting to germinate, which will be planted out once they are strong seedlings and the weather warms up a little more.
Grow babies~

 

I will post with an update on these once there's a bit more to see. : )

This is the large veggie bed, which took lots of effort to clean up and make progress in. I have done some direct sowing, and also plan to start more in trays to plant into this space, may also grab some more seedlings from BAAG, including more flowers! I'm really excited to follow the progress of this bed as I have a bit more space to work with. Can't wait until I have acres to work with! :0

Handy farming resources. Biointensive and Veganic principles.

Hi everyone!

Recently I have been brushing up on some growing techniques and principles. As much as I like allowing things to grow a little bit wild, I am now refining my focus towards strategies which will more effectively and reliably feed a family, as well as provide extra to market and profit from.
 
My vision fits somewhere between an intensive market garden scheme, and a more relaxed home veggie patch, combining elements from both to find a happy middle that is enjoyable, not too rigid, but also creates profit.

To that end I have explored John Jeavons bio-intensive method, which outwardly seems like a near perfect system, and it also happens to fit Veganic (Vegan+Organic) principles. I will not know for sure until I implement the design for myself, and follow through for a number of years to discover the full potential of this method.

You can watch the Grow Bio-intensive Guide on Youtube > HERE
This short series is a great beginning point to gain familiarity with the basic principles of Bio-intensive growing.

On the subject of Veganic principles; I happened upon a video featuring Will Bonsall, in which he shares knowledge and ideas surrounding Veganic farming, which I found to be very insightful, and also coincided with many of my own observations and theories developed over years of casual gardening.

You can watch Wills talk about Veganic principles on Youtube > HERE


All of this lead me to further consider my diet. Generally I am quite mindful about eating healthy, but there is always room for improvement, and it's so easy to slip out of good habits and fall into the trap of too often eating 'whatever' with little thought towards nutritional value.

To help myself out I made a document based on the 60/30/10 guide from the bio-intensive method and listed crops under each section, which is also useful to reference when planning meals.

I have only included gluten-free crops because I am coeliac, and prefer to avoid any contact with them. With the exception of those few crops, I tried to include the best examples I was able to find from various sources, undoubtedly there are many more, including perennial crops.

A side note regarding my diet; I am Vegan and Coeliac, but I prefer to avoid eating grains at all. I am not completely rigid on this point, I will eat some grains here and there, however I much prefer to gain my calories and nutrients from fresh water-rich fruits and vegetables, most nuts and seeds also agree with my rather sensitive digestive system.

I hope people find this interesting and useful, as always I cannot encourage you enough to grow as much food as possible, it is invaluable!

Happy growing everyone. c:

Vegan milk (mylk) blend recipe. *REFINED

I have been making soy milk fresh at home using a Joyoung soy milk machine for a few months now, and I recently decided to experiment by making a milk blend. This is simply mixing different Vegan milk ingredients together to create a kind of hybrid milk, incorporating various nutrients and qualities from different sources.

Most people are pretty familiar with Vegan milk options, two of the most popular being soy, and almond. There are more options becoming available, and some innovative companies are creating milk blends, my experiment was inspired by a milk made by Rebel Kitchen.

If you don't have time/energy/motivation to make milk yourself at home then you could simply buy a few different vegan milks from the store and try mixing them in different ratios to find your own preferred blend.

Here's how I make mine:

Tools-
*Vitamix blender
*Joyoung soy milk machine
*Milk bag or Muslin cloth

This is our Joyoung soy milk machine.

Ingredients-
- 800-900ml Fresh Soy Milk (Make some using a soy milk machine, or follow a recipe).
- 1/2 can good quality Thai Coconut Milk - *Give the can a good shake before you open it.
- Filtered Water
- Pinch of Himalayan or Celtic Sea Salt

Method-
1. Make a batch of fresh soy milk using a soy milk machine. *You can make soy milk without this machine, but it saves lots of time and effort.
2. Once the soymilk has cooled, position a strainer over a large bowl to support your milk bag or muslin cloth. Carefully pour the soy milk into the cloth, and gently strain to remove all the fiber from the soy beans, this results in a smooth mylk.
3. Shake the can of coconut milk well, open, and add half the can to the soymilk in the bowl, along with 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. Stir gently to combine.
4. Bottle your mylk, and refrigerate immediately.

Finished! Well done! c:

Mylk will be beautiful and fresh, and will last several days in the fridge.

If you have never made your own vegan milk at home before, there are many 'how to' videos on Youtube to watch, I would highly recommend checking one out to familiarise yourself with the process before trying for the first time.


'Good luck in the kitchen' - Francis.

Enjoy everyone~

Dumpster diving; something to consider - Save money, Reduce waste.

Haul 1: $90+ worth of avos (guacamole party!), grapes for days, and even olives!

Hi everyone!
Today I will discuss my recent experience with dumpster diving around Melbourne. I was both skeptical and apprehensive about diving at first; the idea made me nervous, and honestly I didn't think it would be worth while. Half a dozen dives later I can report that, while I do find it slightly nerve-wracking at times, I think the benefits far outweigh any potential problems you may encounter.
As you can see from the photos, there is LOTS of perfectly edible food going to waste; all this would be headed for landfill if we hadn't grabbed it, it's quite eye-opening to see just how much is thrown away. Contrary to what many may believe, stores do not only throw out food which is bad, often a product isn't selling, or there's just a few left, or a new delivery comes in, the shelf space is needed and stock is cleared out - straight into the bin. We have also seen boxes with one damaged item that spilled, so the entire box was thrown out.

Consider how much energy has gone into producing these products, growing, processing, packing, delivery, etc, just to wind up in the bin, all that energy wasted. We all know that food is not cheap, especially fruits and veggies, many people struggle to afford fresh produce and end up eating junk instead, food is our highest expense after rent, if we can cut it by half or more, we'll save a lot of money.

There is a lot of potential for dumpster diving, if you think it's something you might try, here are some things to consider:

- Be discreet and considerate - Don't be noisy and don't leave any mess behind
- Wear old clothes - Bins can be messy
- Some days bins are empty, some days too full - Learn the schedule for your area
- Use common sense and safety - Use caution in/around bins, wear appropriate clothing
- Take old bags or boxes to put food into - Don't rely on finding boxes to use
- Take a bottle of soapy water and fresh water to wash and rinse your hands
- Don't get greedy - Only take what you will actually use, leave the rest for other divers
- Share - If you find way more than you need, post it to your local DD group
- Diving during the day or during the night makes little difference
- Everything must be inspected, and thoroughly rinsed+washed - This takes time
- If someone confronts you, be polite and friendly, and leave promptly

Haul 2: Fruit, veg, even junk food.

The photos above, haul 1 & 2 are from two bins in one day; this involved driving to the bins, driving home, then processing everything, it's not much different than driving around to do your grocery shopping, just a bit more processing to do when you get home.
We only take food that is in really good condition to start with, once home we rinse everything, wash it in water with bicarb and vinegar, then do a final rinse, and we leave everything to dry on a towel.

My partner and I are Vegan and I'm coeliac, so that rules out heaps of what we find, once we saw a full box of frozen Hawaiian pizzas, which we shared to our local diving group. Don't even get me started on the bread, loaves upon loaves, many stores re-stock daily, you can imagine how much ends up in the bin.

Remember that diving is like a lucky dip, this can be good for a number of reasons, you might end up eating a greater variety of seasonal foods, and it encourages you to get creative in the kitchen to use what you've found, on the other hand you might not find exactly what you want.

Thus far we have not been confronted by anyone, but it can, and probably will happen eventually. We plan to simply state that we're just trying to save food from going to waste and ending up in landfill, then promptly be on our way. No harm done. I'm hoping that if we're ever confronted, it will be someone friendly with the same outlook on food waste.

Finally, here is a photo of last nights dinner, more than 50% is reclaimed food, and it was delicious!

Happy diving, or not, have a great week either way~

Fungi forage adventure for edible mushrooms

Last Autumn we decided to go on a mission to collect some wild edible mushrooms.

We had our sights set on pine mushrooms (milk caps), as well as slippery jacks; both are easy to identify, and (we hoped) easy to find.

We got up early, hopped into our trusty yellow van, & set out to a few areas known for being fungi friendly, namely Hastings/Merrick/Bittern, all in Victoria, Australia.

It turned out to be a very successful day, we returned home with a huge box full, & ate some for dinner.

Pulled off to the side after spotting some fungi...

 A good patch of pine mushrooms.

Underside of a perfect pine mushroom.

 

We also saw plenty of other wild fungi... 

Including lots & lots of fly agaric.

 This is the box after only a few stops, by the end it was loaded!

Back at home we made a mushroom stew with mashed potatoes. Yum!

I'm back + Thoughts about natural living.

Hello!
I've been to Queensland, Thailand, & Malaysia, and now I'm living in a huge house deep in the suburbs (how depressing)... My travels we OK, good experiences I suppose, but traveling really isn't my deal.

My greatest aspiration is to live in a little house that I have built myself, grow my food, harvest rain water, plant trees, wash/sleep outside (if I so wish), collect/chop/store firewood, actively live quietly & simply. I would spend my time doing things that make me feel content; taking photos, drawing, painting, exploring, swimming, gardening, + whatever I feel like! No expectations or demands from other people, or society in general, just simple living.

This is the kind of house I would like to live in...

Something small, simple, natural, functional. I will NEVER understand why people want big, expensive, fake, crappy houses that don't even function properly (cold in winter/hot in summer).

I've been thinking that instead of aiming to build bigger houses, we build more houses, just big enough for 2 people to live comfortably, if those people choose to have a child, then they build another snug 2 person house on the same property, so once their kid needs more space, he/she begins shifting into the new house. Once that child is all grown up, if they choose to have a baby, they do the same, & so-on, & so on. This way the family stays together, but everyone has their own space & privacy.
So instead of those horrible housing estates, why not only build small, natural, north-facing houses that are passive solar, & self sustaining, & they should come with set amounts of land, with strips of greenery separating properties, & good amounts of dedicated natural habitat for wildlife. House sizes should be kept small, just enough for 2, with a maximum size limit, rather than a minimum.

Snug & comfy!

Natural & beautiful!

For some ideas about building small, check out TinyHouseSwoon, a blog dedicated to tiny houses. There are all kinds of incredible builds to check out, like the 'Aurora Cabin'...

Another great site is CabinPorn, you can find some inspiration from the beautiful photos on this blog...

 

Swoon~

'Back to Eden' documentary, watch for free! :D

'Back to Eden' is a fantastic documentary about growing food naturally, in accordance with nature :) Regardless of your religious standpoint, the knowledge shared in this film is invaluable! Proving that gardening can be easy, everyone can get growing!

Watch it for free > ***LINK***

The truth about money

 Let it be known that I loath the current state of the world, in particular 'first world countries'. Actions are fueled by greed, & many people value money above all things, even willing to destroy lives to have more of it.

Unfortunately I am no exception, I'm caught in this flawed, corrupt system, & I rely on money, however, I hate money, or at least the current monetary system.
There are no easy fixes to be had, & I certainly do not posses all the answers, but as can easily be seen from a bit of world observation, humanity is headed for big, big problems if we do not rethink our priorities, & begin living cooperatively rather than competitively.
Recently I was shown a documentary that really opened my eyes to how completely flawed our current system is, it's a documentary called 'Money as debt'.

This is something that affects everyone, & everything, & I urge everyone to watch it to gain a better understanding of the root cause of just about every problem we face today.

WATCH IT BELOW -

Part 1 -

Part 2 -

Part 3 -

What do you think...

Natural building workshop - Tiny round cob house

I've spent the last week camping in a paddock in a town just outside of Moe, VIC. During my time there I worked with a group of completely awesome people to build a super cool tiny cob structure.

We learned all the basic building skills needed to construct a simple cob home, & made a bunch of new friends & connections.
It's summertime here at the moment, the weather was pretty hot (though thankfully cool at night), & there were fires not far away, but we worked flat out for 6 days, & completed the drainage, foundations & the cob walls.

Brief summary of how we did it -
We started by cleaning up the drainage trench, filling it with gravel, & laying ag pipe for drainage.
Next we layed the lime mortar, blue stone, & clay bricks, this is the foundation that gives you a sturdy base to build on, & separates the cob walls from direct contact with the earth to avoid any problems with rising damp.
At this point we had already mixed lots of cob. We made our cob mixes by stomping clay, sharp sand, straw, & water. We built the walls as high as we could without the walls slumping (cob needs time to dry a little between layers, you can only build so high in a day or it will sink & bulge) We used sticks cut to 300mm to check the width of the walls as we were building.
In the mornings we would check the walls, & used a hand saw to cut off any bulging areas inside & out to make the walls as straight & level as possible. Although cob is low tech, the walls can fall if they are too messy & become overbalanced.
Soon we added the door frame, & some windows, these were all leveled & braced in place. The edges are 'porcupined' with nails so they will lock into the cob wall, lintels & internal braces are used to avoid bowing under the weight of the cob. Anything added into a cob wall must first be wet with a clay slip to help the cob adhere properly.
Some coloured bottles were added into the wall, which later formed the face of an owl, & some simple shelves were build into the walls.
As we got higher some extra windows were added for more light, & we continued mixing & laying cob until we reached the final height. We were also able to hide leftover bricks in the cob wall as we built, this means less cob is needed, & you can get rid of some unused materials.

The paddock we camped in for the week :)

Early stages of the building. Unfortunately my phone was flat on the first couple of days, so I couldn't take photos right from the start :/

Close up of the blue stone foundation, lime mortar, & the cob wall. Below that is the drainage ditch filled with gravel & agricultural pipe ('ag pipe'), which runs down away from the building, & opens out into to paddock.

On the inside you can see regular red bricks, these were used to widen the foundation to accommodate the cob walls. Regular bricks are much cheaper than blue stone, & will be covered once the floor is layed :)

You can also see some of the 300mm sticks we used for checking the width of wall.

A window that has been leveled & braced into place. The nails along the edges will help it lock into the cob, it's known as 'porcupining'

The door frame is braced on the inside to prevent the weight of the cob bowing it, so the door will fit in properly at the end. The frame is porcupined, & some extra pieces of wood are attached to the sides of the frame & porcupined as well for extra stability.

The bottles were added straight into the wall, with slip straw running across the top for strength & protection to avoid the bottles breaking under the weight of the cob. This area was also given extra time to dry so the section above the bottles was more sturdy.

This is the lovely owl sculpture added around the bottles once the wall was higher. It is made of the same cob mix as the rest of the wall, attached by roughing the surface of the wall, adding some clay slip, & attaching sculpted cob.

This is the completed structure on the final day :D

The walls are at full height, all the windows are in, & external bracing has been removed.

The inside of the building standing in the door frame.

A roof with eaves will be built on in a weeks time, & once the earth floor is layed the bricks at the bottom will no longer be visible. The final step will be rendering the walls, which will make them neat, smooth, & more resistant to weather, etc.

 

Simple shelves built into the cob wall, & a little cob kiwi bird struttin'

My favorite window all cobed in :)

Building with cob is very low tech, & very labor intensive. Once you know the basics, you can build a beautiful natural home with family & friends. It's definitely best to have at least one person with lots of experience on the site, but because cob is quite a simple technique anyone can easily pick up the basics & help with building. :)

As you can see this is just a small room, which would be great for woofers, etc, but it has no electrics or plumbing, we are hoping to attend more workshops to learn more about that, & maybe some different building techniques too, I'm particularly interested in 'slip straw', also called 'light clay'.

Hopefully in the few years I'll be working on my own natural home!

Why Vegan? -A summary-

I've wanted to make this post for a while, basically my aim is to make short summaries of the main reasons why I think being vegan is so damn important.

Animal rights: 

Selective breeding - Animals used within industry, whether it's meat, milk, eggs, wool, etc have all been selectively breed to best suit the purpose humans have imposed upon them. They are far removed from their original, natural form, & this often has crippling effects on their health.

Unnatural environment - Most 'industry animals' (dairy cows, pigs, meat & egg chickens, etc), spend their lives in small, uncomfortable surrounds, some to the point that they suffer endlessly, day in & day out. 'Free range' is not a solution, in many cases the animals only have slightly more room than in factory farms. Most animals suffer in filthy, cramped conditions, & exhibit all kinds of distressing behaviors, from attacking one another, to crying, & chewing on the metal bars of there confines.

Slaughter - If you believe in the idea of 'humane slaughter', then I would ask you to imagine your beloved family pet in the same situation as that which a cow, pig, or chicken must face, in that light does it still seem humane? Also consider that virtually all industry animals are only permitted to live a fraction of their natural lives, male chicks, & bobby calves are only babies when they are slaughtered.

Cruel practices - Within animal industries there are many standard practices that are extremely cruel, baby pigs have there teeth & tails cut off, with absolutely no pain relief. Young chickens have the ends of their beaks & toes removed (to stop fighting in crowded conditions), cows are branded with a red-hot iron, & often have large metal rings put in their noses. We do these horrible things to control & subdue these animals, so that we can keep them in unnatural situations.

Natural behavior denied - Virtually all industry animals are forced to live in a way which denies them their basic natural instincts, pigs love to explore, dig, take mud baths, plays, & build a nest when they are pregnant, no such behaviors are possible in the conditions most animals are raised in.

Dairy cows - The dairy industry baffles my mind. The basic cycle is -
We artificially impregnate cows, so that they will produce milk for their baby, when the baby is born, we tear it away from it's mother so that we can harvest the milk for ourselves, some of the babies will enter the dairy industry, but most are slaughtered just days, or weeks after birth, cold, hungry, & afraid without their mothers. The mother cows cry out for their babies for days, as we steal the milk intended for their offspring.
This cycle continues, on average, for 8 years, until the cows body is too depleted to produce high enough quantities of milk, at which point, after a life of service she is sent to slaughter.

A short life - Industry animals are only kept alive for a minimal amount of time. For meat animals, this is until they reach full size (this has been increased, & sped up via selective breeding, hormones, etc), for dairy cows, & egg chickens this is until their bodies tire, & their production drops, or stops. We look at these beings as objects, to be used, & disposed of as we see fit, furthermore we are taught to view industry animals differently from companion animals, this is not fair, & not a healthy mentality.

Animals deserve respect, & they have the right to live happily, & carry out their natural instincts. There is nothing natural about what we put these animals through, their lives are short & miserable, & we can help put a stop to it by simply choosing a vegan lifestyle.

Environmental impact:

We raise millions of animals every year, & it requires a massive amount of resources, including land, feed, fresh water, medications, etc. We clear vast habitats & eradicate native species to make room for domesticated animals, to grow their feed, & we dedicate tons of fresh water to raise them, if we redirected all these efforts & resources, no one in the world would be without food & water!
Animals must also be moved around a lot, to & from farms, then to the slaughterhouse, then onward to be processed, packaged, & yet again to reach the shop. Huge trucks are needed, moving is stressful for the animals, & very polluting. The huge quantities of blood, & offal from processing often ends up contaminating soil, nearby waterways, & the ocean.
Animals of course produce lots of waste themselves, including excrement, & gas, in such unnaturally high concentration it causes massive problems for the environment, it results in poor air quality, polluted soil & water, & many other serious problems.

Personal health:

Human beings gain nothing by eating animal products. This has been well documented for decades, & there are thousands of fit, healthy vegans that stand as testament to this fact.
Animals products are riddled with fats, cholesterol, harmful hormones, & dangerous proteins.
There is nothing provided by animal products that is not available in a healthier form from plant foods.
Fruits, vegetables, salad greens, & nuts are the ideal foods for our bodies, eating simple whole foods, & more fresh raw food (especially fruit) will result in a slimmer, healthier body, with a greatly reduced risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, etc.

A very simple way to know if a food is good for your body is if it is acid-forming when digested, or alkaline-forming when digested. The human body is alkaline (except the stomach when digesting certain foods), & alkaline-forming foods support us best.
*Alkaline-forming foods: all vegetables (except asparagus, which is mildly acid-forming), All fruit (except blueberries, & olives), all sprouts, & some nuts - almonds, chestnuts, coconuts, etc.
*Acid-forming foods: all dairy products (except butter, which is neutral), all animal products (except blood & bone), & all grains & grain products (except millet, which is mildly alkaline-forming)
Acid forming-foods must be neutralised by our body, this is achieved using alkaline minerals, primarily calcium & iron, which is sourced from our bones, blood, etc. This is why, contrary to what we are told, dairy is not good for our bones!

We are taught to eat those foods which can be most easily monopolised, & mass produced, because they achieve the greatest profits. Animal welfare, & human health are not priority, profit is. Most people simply do not know any better, & never understand why they become ill. I felt this way when I was diagnosed with multiple diseases at the age of 19, but as I learned, & adjusted my diet my health is improving :)

We all have the ability to help end animal suffering, reduce damage to the environment, & improve our health. Changing to a vegan lifestyle is a powerful start, knowledge is key, so read as much as you can, watch all the documentaries you can, also observe the world around you to help you make the right decisions. The truth can be tricky to find, but it is there.

Resources:

Two of the best documentaries I have seen, I highly recommend checking out both!

'Forks over knives' (watch trailer), &
'Peaceable kingdom: the journey home' (watch trailer).

Buy Peaceable Kingdom DVD  - HERE
Buy Forks over Knives DVD - HERE or HERE

Websites:
vegankit.com
lunchboxbunch.com
WorldVeganDay
veganonline.com.au
crueltyfreeshop.com.au
TheVeganZombie
squidmaster.net
ThugKitchen.com - (Warning! Coarse language)
VeganMenu
VeganCheatSheet

How I make a compost pile (post number 300) [:0-Woh!

Garden bed with compost added.

This is one of those things you can probably do in endless combinations, using everything from animal bits to poop, but being vegan, we avoid all animal products, & I like to take it easy (ok, I'm lazy), so I wanted to make a 'low risk' compost pile, where little could go wrong, & last year I successfully made a pile that required almost no effort ':D<boom.
All I did was layer a fine mulch with food scraps (all plant-based, no animal products). Once it was full I left the pile to sit & compost itself, I didn't turn it, or touch it at all, & it worked out really well :) As the pile breaks down it will reduce in size, & you can add more to the top as it shrinks if you want to.
I probably could have/should have left my pile to sit longer to break down more, but I wanted to add it this spring, it was well broken down, & smelled fine, so I used it.

I highly recommend composting your food scraps, it's ridiculously easy, & assuming nothing goes horribly wrong, you'll be left with a lovely material to add to your garden.
In my mind there are only two things that can really go wrong with a compost pile -
1. It's too wet - it'll go mushy & gross., & maybe smell a bit.
2. It's too dry - it won't break down, nothing much will happen.

These problems are pretty easy to avoid, & largely come down to where you make your pile. In a cool damp climate, a spot with good drainage, & a little sunlight would be a good choice, also use more mulch between layers. In a warm dry climate, make your pile in a shaded spot, & you can get away with using less mulch.
Piles can also be adjusted; turn + add mulch if too wet, shade + add a little water if too dry. 
The mulch you use to compost must be dry (ie. not green) Using a finer mulch helps the pile break down more quickly. Mulch takes the longest time to break down, so keep that in mind when selecting the type you're going to use.

You can build a compost pile in just about anything. Our first one is inside a simple oval frame made from scrap chicken wire, & our second pile is in a frame made from re-claimed wooden fence. As long as it has ample drainage at the bottom, just about anything will do.
You may have other things to consider, such as keeping pets or wild animals out, in that case you may need something more sturdy, with some kind of cover on top.
Many people worry about rodents, our pile was visited several times by mice & rats, but they just dig a little then move on, so no harm done!

Here's the super simple process -

Lay a decent layer of mulch.

Add your veggie scraps & spread them out a little.

Cover the scraps with more mulch.

Then add more scraps, cover with mulch, & repeat.

Once your pile is full, leave it to sit & break down.
After that last addition of scraps & mulch, it's a good idea to let to pile compost for about 6 months or more, a whole year is a good idea. Larger material takes longer to break down, so times can vary, & things break down more quickly during the wet season.

A good finished compost will look & smell like lovely soil, it will be crumbly & damp, but neither wet or dry. As mentioned above, my pile could have used another 6 months, but I needed it, & it will break down more on the garden beds.