1-2-3...Let's Compost!

Compost bin

Composting is really easy. Instead of dumping your garbage in the wastebasket in your kitchen, you dump it in the compost bin in your backyard! Put in all your fruit and vegetable scraps, used coffee grounds and eggshells, and before you know it, voila! Compost!

When I was growing up in upstate NY, we always composted. I didn't know anything about it, other than it was another chore my parents would assign one of us 4 kids. "Take the compost out!". We had a tupperware container on our counter and after dinner, we had to dump the fruit/veggie scraps into the big concrete block compost bin my father had constructed in the far corner of our yard. ( my father is German, so does not skimp on anything...but a compost can be as simple as a pile in a corner of your yard). In the spring, all of that valuable compost would be mixed into my parent's vegetable garden. My mother's garden was always amazing, producing so many  tomatoes and cucumbers that we used to sell them door to door.

If you research composting 101, you will find all kinds of information on the best location for your compost bin, what types to consider using, how much moisture the compost needs, sunlight requirements and lots of technical stuff on nitrogen, bacteria, fungi etc.

I am not going to tell you about all of that. 

What I will tell you is that composting is easy and anyone can do it. It decreases the amount of trash that goes into your garbage can and ultimately the local landfill. Those banana peels, eggshells and watermelon rinds break down over time and results in a nutrient-rich material that is a natural fertilizer for your flower and vegetable garden and/or container plants.

inside compost container

We have a small plastic container with a lid that sits on our kitchen counter. When it is filled to capacity, it is dumped into our compost bin outside. Sounds simple? Pretty much, that is it. I do use an aeration tool to mix it up when I think about it, but mostly it does it's thing on it's own...a self-service magic dirt making machine!

Do not put meat or bones in your compost. You may end up with a few uninvited visitors (rats) and your neighbors will not be happy!

compost

                                                                 Happy Composting!