Composting



Kitchen and Yard waste

 

Compost

 I do enjoy composting because I am not allowing kitchen and yard waste to end up in a landfill somewhere. And it ends up being my very own gardener's gold. This will add a lot of nutrients back into my soil.

If you read both of the previous blogs about composting, you know what materials you will need to compost and why. Most sites that give you info on how to compost tell you that you have to have a portion of greens and a portion of browns for you to get compost. Even if you don't follow those instructions you will get compost as an end result. It just might take a little longer is all.

To start I used my old storage bins and had my hubby add holes all over the bins so air can flow through the bins. He even made holes on the covers and bottoms of the bins. My yard is big enough to hide them behind the shed. But ideally you want it close to the garden and garden hose. After the bins were ready literally my family started to collect all kitchen and yard waste throughout the year. It all goes into the bins. It would decompose much sooner if we would shred everything to small pieces before putting them into the bins.

Most of the time everything is dropped in as a whole so I try to do a layer of kitchen waste & then a layer of yard waste. I add earth worms to help me along with the process. Earthworms love the compost bin & they reproduce so quickly before you know it they are thousands of them in your bins.

You will need to water the compost and turn the compost at least once a week. This will help the process. I don’t water or turn the bins during the winter months. It takes about a year before I get to see compost. If you shred everything as small as possible you will get compost much sooner. The pictures above show when I start with waste & when I have compost. Just keep in mind that when compost decomposes it shrinks. I have 6 bins which becomes 1 bin once it has turned into compost. You can even use a sieve to help you filter through your compost. 

If during the process at any time the compost pile smells. Just add more yard waste and mix the pile. The oxygen helps decompose your pile.

Here’s a list of items for composting:

From the Kitchen

·         Coffee grounds and filters

·         Tea bags

·         Used paper napkins

·         Pizza boxes, ripped into smaller pieces

·         Paper bags, either ripped or balled up

·         Stale bread

·         Paper towel rolls

·         Stale saltine crackers

·         Stale cereal

·         Used paper plates (as long as they don't have a waxy coating)

·         Nut shells (except for walnut shells, which can be toxic to plants)

·         Old herbs and spices

·         Stale pretzels

·         Cereal Boxes (tear them into smaller pieces first)

·         Stale beer and wine

·         Paper egg cartons

·         Toothpicks

·         Bamboo skewers

·         Paper cupcake or muffin cups

From the Bathroom

·         Used facial tissues

·         Toilet paper rolls

Around the House

·         Newspapers (shredded or torn into smaller pieces)

·         Subscription cards from magazines

·         Leaves trimmed from houseplants

·         Dead houseplants and their soil

·         Flowers from floral arrangements

·         Natural potpourri

·         Used matches

·         Ashes from the fireplace, barbecue grill, or outdoor fire pit

Party and Holiday Supplies

·         Wrapping paper rolls

·         Paper table cloths

·         Crepe paper streamers

·         Those hay bales you used as part of your outdoor fall decor

·         Natural holiday wreaths

·         Your Christmas tree. Chop it up with some pruners first (or use a wood chipper, if you have one...)

·         Evergreen garlands

Pet-Related

·         Newspaper/droppings from the bottom of the bird cage

·         Feathers

·         Alfalfa hay or pellets (usually fed to rabbits)

·         Rawhide dog chews

·         Fish food

·         Dry dog or cat food

For details on how to compost go to:

http://www.composting101.com/what-to-use.html

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/surprising-compost-items.htm

Let it Rot

Happy Gardening!!!