Waste Not Wednesday

Composting! What is compost/composting? Compost is a mixture of decayed or decaying organic matter used to fertilize soil. So why not make your own? Not only is it much more inexpensive than buying compost, it is resourceful as well. Just think how many trash bags you can save. All the organic matter you place in the trash bag takes up room and not only that it adds to the smell. Now how do you go about composting? The first step in composting is finding a location to place your compost. There are many different types of bins you can make that can be used for compost, or a simple hole in the ground works too. However, you may want to place shrubs, bushes, and other concealing plants around your compost location to keep the compost from becoming an eyesore. The second step in composting is having a container indoors to hold household scraps . An empty ice cream bucket works well, concealed under the sink, it won't even be noticed. Though any container can work. Now what can be placed in compost? Many number of things! Leaves, grass clippings, chicken and or cattle manure, sawdust, kitchen scraps, wood ashes, and shredded newspapers. Kitchen scraps are vegetable and fruit peelings/scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, and tea leaves/bags. Some items you will not want to include in your compost are butter/margarine, fats or oil of any kind, meat, garlic, onions, and peppers. These last three items are organic, however they have such a strong smell/taste that they will cause any thing grown in your soil to taste like them. You will want to empty your indoor compost container daily or at least every other day. This will eliminate any smells. You will want to stir your compost every so often to allow for quicker decomposing. This is a very quick overview of composting, for more detailed instructions you can look at numerous sources online. Have fun composting! -Not of This World