About 18 months ago Neal and I decided to start a compost pile. After a lot of debate about how to collect our compost material in the house (he wanted a bucket outside by the door; I wanted something inside), we settled on a medium sized plastic bin kept by the kitchen sink. We figure we’ve cut the amount of garbage we send to the dump by at least two bags a week by hanging on to our veggie scraps, egg shells, and coffee
grinds. It ain’t pretty, but here’s how it looks.
When the bin threatens to overflow (with all of my soup making lately, that’s often), one of us takes it out back, behind our shed.
There Neal has set up three piles. While it would be better to have an enclosure around the piles, we haven’t had any problems with critters, and the dogs aren’t allowed behind the shed, so they don’t scamper off with carrot bits. At this point, one pile is simply leaves from our yard. The second has a crater in the center, where we dump the kitchen waste. The third is our own version of black gold.
Neal moved a pile of our first compost to my garden, where it will be used to enrich the soil. It is so satisfying to know that all those bibs and bobs of organic material that we might have put in the garbage are instead going to help me to grow more food for our kitchen.
Do you compost? If so, what tips do you have for me?
I come from a long line of composters. My German grandfather always had a compost pile for his veggie garden. My parents used their compost in beautiful ornamental gardens filled with their prize rhododendrons. There is nothing better that you can do for your soil. The fact that less is being sent to the landfills is certainly an added benefit!
The only tips I have are to keep it turned, to keep the air circulating and make sure you have a good balance of wet and dry (veggie scraps & leaves). Rodale Press publishes a good book on composting that you can probably find at your local library.
I just started a compost pile this past spring. A moved into a new place and there was one of those Rubbermaid compost things. Well she needed the space for a hawk cage. (Her DH is a licensed hawk person.) So I got it. I am not sure if mine got hot enough but I can see it settling and it smells okay. I have found that my trash is a lot less now.
There are lots of hints out on the internet for composting. I have two big trash barrels that I need to dump into my neighbor’s bigger pile. He gets to use my compost since I get to use his garden.
I’m trying a lasagne method this winter. You layer different browns and green in your garden beds ( leaves, manure, peat moss)and just let it sit all winter and decompose. I will let you know how it worked next spring.
I’m just starting to compost again. We have in the past just taken our waste into the garden during the winter and turning it. This year we are doing piles and I’m thinking of trying Ramona’s method, now that the leaves have started to really fall off the trees.
Sadly I don’t compost since it’s kind of difficult to do as an apartment dweller, but I really wish I could!