I read the other day it is estimated that one third of all trash that goes to the landfill is food scraps. That floored me. I have been pleased with the recycling initiatives put in place over the last 20 years. Many Americans routinely send cans, glass and paper to be recycled, but did you know you can recycle food scraps as well? It is called composting. The advantage of composting is that you can reduce the amount of garbage being taken to landfills and “hidden” under the ground by one third. At the same time you get free fertilizer for your yard, garden or flowerbeds. It is truly a win-win.
So, how do you compost? The basic concept of composting is to place plant matter such as twigs, grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps etc., into a bin, cover it with some dirt, and keep it moist. This provides an ideal environment for bacteria to work their magic. In about 2-3 months you have rich dirt. This dirt makes an excellent medium in which to grow vegetables or flowers.
There are many composting methods, but typically it is one of two methods. You can compost in the ground or in a container. Container composting is using a barrel, a homemade container from chicken wire (or similar), or buying a pre-made compost bin. The pre-made bins can get rather pricey, but are built to optimize the conversion of scraps into dirt. In ground composting is setting aside an area of your garden or flower bed in which to place your scraps. I often do this my setting aside a small area of my garden each year in which I deposit the composting material. Every now and then I will use a shovel to throw a little dirt on top. I stop using this spot in the late fall and let it rest for the winter. The next spring when I am tilling my garden I till right through the spot like the rest of the garden. It is ready for planting. I use another spot for the next year. During the winter while my compost bed is “working” I throw scraps directly into my garden.
So what can you compost? Well, most anything except meat and cooked food. Meat will have tendency to attract rodents. The last thing you want to do is establish a buffet for rats in your yard. Cooked food has a tendency to smell. At our house we keep a container with a sealed list next to the sink. Anytime we are we are preparing food we have it open and we deposit all vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds etc. At various kitchen stores you can buy containers designed for this purpose. They are attractive and have lids with charcoal filters to reduce any odors. I periodically take it out to the garden to dump it. I then rinse it out and it is ready to go again. You will be shocked how much food scraps you produce when you cook.
Even if you don’t garden, you can still compost. Anyone can compost except maybe someone that lives in an apartment. Find a small spot in your yard and designate it as your compost area. As the food scraps begin to accumulate, you can periodically top it with a little dirt or potting soil. It doesn’t hurt to put leaves, grass clippings and twigs in the compost pile along with your food scraps. In fact if you aren’t composting your leaves you are missing a gold mine of dirt! One word of caution about grass clippings; if you put a lot of green clipping in your pile at once they will smell. Let them dry in the yard or driveway for a bit before you add them to your pile. If you produce a lot of leaves each year, you may have to have two compost piles and alternate between them, filling one as you let the other rest while the contents “breakdown”. Use the rich dirt you produce in your flower beds, as potting soil, or just sprinkle it around yard. Your plants will thank you and your city will thank you because it is less garbage they have to haul off.
No comments:
Post a Comment