Composting 101

According to the EPA, yard trimmings and food scraps alone make up 24% of the United State’s solid municipal waste. Where does all this solid waste end up? All smelly and rotting in our landfills. That’s a major problem. Why can’t we take those organic resources and turn them into something new? You’ve all heard of the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. By composting, we’ll be RECYCLING those resources and putting them to good use. So you want to get started eh? Let’s point you in the right direction. There are plenty of resources available to you. The EPA’s website is a good place to start. If you need more help, just type in “composting” on your favorite search engine and you’ll be greeted with tons of information. Let me put a plug in for these cool green search engines though. Try Ecocho or GreenMaven. They’re both awesome search engines for the green-minded.

A little bit of background information: Organic things can be composted! If you eat (I’m assuming you do), your food scraps can be composted. If you have a green thumb, all your clippings can be composted. What results from your composting is mulch, a more useable organic substance that can be used to improve soil conditions and supply nutrients for plants. In other words, it’s plant food! It’s fairly simple to get started. After all, composting is a microbial process that can be encouraged by humans.

Here is a list of things that would be the most suitable for composting: leaves, grass clippings, horse or cow manure (can get smelly though), paper, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, fur, sawdust, newspapers, houseplants, fruits and vegetables, eggshells, and a whole lot more. I’d recommend you do some research on your own before tossing it in for compost.

Here is the list NOT suitable for composting: Coal or charcoal, dairy products, fat or lard, meat or bones, pet waste, large pieces of wood (they take a while to break down), and things treated with pesticides. Most of the things listed can either harm plants when composted, cause disease, or attract unwanted rodents and insect pests.

Ways to do it:

Large scale (somewhat) composting: If you do a lot of yardwork or have a lot of space, this might be the method for you. Essentially, you need to set up an area where you want to establish your compost. A lot of folks build a wooden box, but you can do without, or use a plastic compost bin. Get yourself a shovel and a kitchen compost pail. Just visit Amazon and you can get one for around $20.

1) Amass your compostables in the kitchen pail. All your food scraps left from cooking, paper, egg shells, egg cartons should all go in there. Empty your pail into your big compost area at least once a week.

2) Roughly every month, make sure you mix your new compost into the old compost using a shovel or appropriate tool. This allows air to circulate and aids in decomposition. Make sure you don’t skip this step! You want to try to maintain a mixture of 1/2 green compost and 1/2 brown compost. This ensures that there is both carbon and nitrogen and promotes healthy decomposition.

3) The bacteria that decompose your scraps need moisture, so make sure your pile is moist. If your pile is drying out, especially during the hotter months, give it a good spray down. You just want it to be moist, so don’t overdo it.

4) You’ll have some useful compost! Use it to feed your plants! Then, start all over again! It’s pretty painless to maintain once you get started. Best of all, it’s easy!

Tumblers: This is for people who don’t want to mix their compost as often. It makes composting a lot easier. It’s the same basic concept as large scale composting, but all you need to do is give it a push and it’ll do the mixing for you.

Vermicomposting: This type of composting involves using several species of worms in order to compost. Worm manure is a great nutrient-rich fertilizer. Grab a bin, collect your worms and throw your decomposing veggies and fruits in there! It doesn’t smell as much as large scale composting and is perfect for confined spaces. Some people put the bins right under their kitchen sink. There are a variety of stores that sell worm bin starter kits. It’s worth taking a look at.

There it is! Composting is easy! Leave your comments or additions below.

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