Composting

I have an Earth Machine, I got it last spring. I already had some good compost this spring! You can find many composting solutions online. I keep a plastic coffee container on my counter and add my kitchen waste to that (all but meat, oil, and dairy). I put my coffee grounds, egg shells, fruit/veggie scraps, all kinds of stuff in it. Line your container with a damp, not wet, paper towel, and your scraps come right out when you dump them into the composter. The paper towel adds the right balance of brown matter, which is an added bonus.

My compost does not smell, and is rich with worms. I tend it as often as once a week, or as little as once a month. In the winter, I add to it, but, don't get out there to turn it. Before it gets cold for winter, I add a layer of grass clippings, topped with newspaper.

I was using gDiapers on my son last year, and I composted the wet ones. I used some of my compost this year in my large flower pots in my front yard, and they are thriving.

I suggest giving it a try. It's amazing how much waste you will find you have from your kitchen.

Good luck!

I found the book 'let it rot' (Stu Campbell) greatly de-mystified the process of composting. There is hot and cold composting and hot is a little more complicated than cold. You have to 'balance' that out with green and brown material and turn it periodically. With cold composting you just throw it in a pile and wait for nature to do it's thing. Worm composting is a good idea especially for apartments, etc. but you have to cut everything up pretty small. I like the idea of burying the scraps in the ground. I think I will do that in the fall so it has all winter to decompose and benefit my garden. I might be hesitant to do it in the summer while the garden is active - wouldn't want anything digging it up.

Hi M.!
My sis and I were just talking about this. I told her I wanted a worm kit & she told me it was redundant because there are lots of healthy wriggling worms already in the garden. My sis is an amazing gardener & told me a really, really simple way to compost.

She said you cut into the top of an empty, washed out milk gallon so it'll open but don't cut it off. Then as you go through your day you add any vegetable/fruit matter (ONLY) to it. Later that day you take it outside and literally just dig a hole & bury it all right there. Spread it around. The worms will digest it in your garden so you don't have to wait for it to decompose in your kitchen or anywhere else. Just rinse it out again afterward & start again the next day. I haven't started it yet, but plan to. It seems simple & she says it'll really help the soil. Better to help my soil than the landfill!

D.

Here's what I do:

I have a two sided sink and in one side I put a dishpan and I used that to throw in eggshells, scraps, coffee grounds, etc. I also use it for when I'm washing my hands or rinsing lettuce/fruit, etc., or when I'm just waiting for the water to get hot or cold. It's amazing how much water you use for this. When the dishpan gets about 3/4 full, I take it outside and pitch it into a corner of the garden. (My garden is right off of my deck.)It decomposes and I have never noticed any rancid smell or anything. At the end of the season or when you have time, you could turn it under.

Hi M.

My sister just got my husband the counter top composter from Crate and Barrel. It is stainless steel, so it looks really nice (we keep it on the fridge). You do have to empty it about once a week, so you have to have a compost pile in your yard, which we have not done yet. Good luck!

C.