The Secret Sauce of Composting

As promised, the secret or perfect mixture of materials consists of 1/2 to 1/4 brown (carbon-based material) and 1/2 to 3/4 green (nitrogen-based material) by weight. No meat, bones or dairy products!
1.)Start your compost pile on bare earth – This allows worms and other beneficial organisms to aerate the compost and be transported to your garden.
2.)Lay twigs or straw a few inches deep - This aids drainage and helps aerate the pile.
3.)Add compost material in layers – Alternating moist food scraps ,tea bags, seaweed, ect.) and dry materials (straw, leaves and wood ashes).
4.)Keep compost moist – Water occasionally, or let rain do the job. Compost should be moist, but not soaked.
5.)Cover – Helps retain moisture and heat.
6.)Turn – Every few weeks give the pile a turn with a shovel or pitchfork. This “adds” the mush needed oxygen required for the process to work.

The chart below is just a guide line of suggested materials.

Back Yard Composting

   Back yard composting is a great place to start. You’re probably asking yourself if you need to purchase a container to produce compost. The answer is no. You really don’t need a bin to compost. In fact, you can compost in a pile on the ground. That is one of the two ways our house is composting at this time.        
   If you have the space in your yard to compost on the ground in a pile you can go the ‘no-turn’ route or you can turn your pile a few times a year to help aerate and break down your pile quicker. The ‘no-turn’ method will break down but you should do a few things to ensure air flow. The secret is to thoroughly mix in enough coarse material, like straw, when building a pile. There are some studies that show nitrogen levels may be higher in ‘no-turn’ compost than turned compost. Oh, you can also use a container for the ‘no-turn’ method as well. This is not limited to a pile only. I have found that it is a bit discouraging in a bin however.
   Ok, another option is a bin. You can build a semi enclosed bin like the one my husband Greg and I built in our previous home. This was constructed out of reclaimed cinder blocks. It was a three bin system. Each section should be no larger than 4ft x 4ft and about 4ft high. Ours was open in the front so we could turn them over and add materials easily. You may also want to consider a barrel or tumbler. We currently have three barrel type bins at work now. We were able to pick them up at our local Master Gardening program. Now a really quick way to compost out doors is a tumbler. This is so cool, I am definitely picking one of these up this year. You add your materials turn the tumbler and in just a few weeks you have black gold. It can really be that easy. The key is what materials you put into your bin, tumbler or pile. There is a secret sauce I will share on Thursday.
   This is only scratching the surface of backyard composting. If you have a specific question, feel free to e-mail me and I can get specific information to you. I have a product I can recommend if you are interested as well.

The #1 Least recycled material

   According to the US EPA, Food Waste is the #1 least recycled material.  In fact, there is more food and paper in landfills than diapers, styrofoam and tires combined.
   I know, you're thinking so what!  Food and paper will decompose.  Yes, in nature food and even paper would be attacked by microorganisms and invertebrates in the soil.  They would be decomposed into humus and these nutrients would then be recycled into the natural ecosystem.  Oh, I forgot to mention you also need oxygen for decomposition because without oxygen microorganisms can not survive.  Oxygen can not penetrate the deeply layered landfills which are saturated with water.  As a result, even "biodegradable" waste will remain embalmed for centuries to come.
   You know were I am going with this don't you?  Composting, a word some people cringe at.  It is not as complicated as you may think.  Although I myself would like to try worm composting, there are many other options that are easy, do not smell and will give you fairly quick results.  This is just food for thought...no pun intended!  In my up coming post I will give you examples and options.  Just keep an open mind, this waste reduction project could actually be fun.

Recycle or Trash?

I have always felt good about recycling. Until our last move. Our neighborhood did not offer curbside pick up. Then I asked myself RECYCLE or Trash? As for that question, I knew the answer. I designated my laundry room walk in closet to be the recycling area. This space filled up quick with two adults and two teenagers in the house. The plan was to recycle twice a month. There was no way with our busy life that we could take the recycling more often. I needed to reduce the amount of waste we were creating. We needed to change our buying habits. I was amazed at how easy that change was. I found that it was quite cost effective to buy in bulk and stop buying water bottles. I purchased food grade stainless steel bottles for us all and invested in a filtered water pitcher for the refrigerator. I went from buying 3 to 4 cases of water a week to 1 to 2 a month. The truth is reducing what we recycle and throw out is the key! So in summary...try to reduce your waste and although recycling is not always convenient it is the right thing to do! Look for my updates on Tuesdays and Thursdays.