Did you know we have a global crisis taking place under our feet? I didn't either. Well, now we have another thing to worry about - the earth is loosing its topsoil. Just ask your search machine to tell you all about it. Or, live happily in oblivion.  |
Have you ever thought about this? How silly of us to first pay for yard waste removal, about $9 a month, and then buy it back at the store as compost? We decided to avoid the middle man, save money, and know just what goes into the compost for our garden.  |
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Composting (2009) by Mary We read all about compost on the internet and got excited. Larry built a place for our yard waste which consists mostly of fall cleanup of our flower and vegetable gardens, and leaves. We have even asked some of our neighbors if we could have their leaves, as long as we knew it was only leaves. We don't want chemically treated grass in our compost. Luckily, our garbage service switched to a huge container, so we had two nice garbage cans we converted for kitchen waste. It was my first time using a drill, and I had fun drilling holes in the sides and bottom for air and drainage. Later, we were offered a spin-bin at a price we couldn't turn down, so now we alternate with three barrels. This is how we save our kitchen waste: I have a small metal canister by my kitchen sink. Everything but meat and fat goes in it. This canister is dumped into a 5 gallon pail with lid, in the garage. When the pail gets full, Larry takes it out and empties it into one of the garbage cans. This step prevents rodents. We throw a little brown material, such as leaves, in-between the layers. When it becomes unrecognizable, we add it to the large compost pile. If available, a little chicken manure, etc. adds nitrogen, and speeds up the process. Or, we add some of our organically treated grass clippings. We made about 450 pounds of compost last year. Do I really need a garbage disposal? I was raised on the farm where nothing went to waste. We fed everything to the dog, chickens or pigs. We now have that same good feeling. Even the meat scraps, which shouldn't be composted, go into the freezer and then to the farm for the cat. It was common sense, then. Now it is called recycling. Conserving:
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