Banana peels, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, plant matter, tea bags, vegetable scraps … all of these go back to nature easily (thank god) but they can serve you by becoming soil if you compost them. Even if you don’t garden, composting is better than sending stuff to the landfill.
Basically, this is how it works: keep a bucket in the kitchen to collect the waste, before it gets rank put the stuff into a container outside, add moisture, mix it up, and let nature do its work. Sooner or later it all turns into dirt.
There are containers ready made with cranks on the side so they are easy to turn, or you can rough it and use a bed and a shovel. One way is to have a plastic barrel with holes drilled into it. Kick the barrel around the yard to mix up the contents. You do not necessarily have to touch the stuff if you don’t want to. At least not until it is finished. It should not smell bad either, if it does, you need to add more leaves or shredded paper. (see below)
The point in composting is for the stuff to decompose. So what you want is 3 basic things:
1. Moisture
2. Heat
3. Mixing or turning
There are a few things not to do, so here is a list of do’s and dont’s:
DO:
Do put your composting a distance from your doors and windows
Do put natural stuff that will break down like food and small amounts of non glossy pulpy paper (coffee filters, shredded newspaper, shredded sales fliers, etc)
Do keep the stuff heated (such as in the sun, not the shade)
Do keep the stuff aerated (let it breathe, keep it mixed up)
Do keep the stuff moist but not soaking wet – like a run out sponge
Do shred newspaper if you are going to compost it.
Do add composting agents which are available at gardening centers. Fresh cow manure works as well.
Do chop or break up stuff into pieces or parts
For best results, do turn it every few days. Burying it will do the trick, just at a much slower rate
Do add farm animal manure if you can get it
Do add cut grasss but be sure to mix it
Do let worms live in the compost – they help aerate the compost and they eat it which speeds up the process.
Do protect it from heavy wind and rain
Do add leaves, straw, or shredded newspaper and turn it. Especially if it starts to stink.
DON’T:
Don’t put in things with protein, such as meat or dairy – it will take a long time to break down and attract pests.
Don’t put in bones – they will definitely take forever to break down (seems silly to say this but I actually know someone that tried )
Don’t put in plant matter that is diseased or treated with herbicides, such as lawn clippings from parks.
Do NOT try to compost poop. Feces comosting should be done separately since the soil cannot be used for gardening. It also requires slightly different instructions. However, poop from herbivores is different, that is fertilizer, and is ok to compost. But don’t go overboard. Cat and dog (and human) poop is definitely a don’t.
Don’t toss your trash in the compost. This defeats the purpose of composting.
Don’t put in a lot of newspaper with a lot of shiny paper and colored ink (coupon pages for example)
Don’t put in ashes from coal. Wood ash is not recommended either.
Don’t put in diseased plants or weeds gone to seed (if you plan to garden with the resulting soil)
Don’t add dairy products (this will attract pests and make it stink)
Don’t add fatty stuff like salad dressing – fats take too long to break down.
Happy Rotting…..
