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Composting - Part 2 - What?

Archived in Landscape, Outdoors, Compost | 1 Comment

AS I NOTED in Part 1, a compost lets you get all sorts of functionality out of your organic matter. Sure, it seems like it’s abundant now. But in the vast, sterile confines of an infinite universe, organic matter is more precious than gold. Okay, so maybe not. But why throw away millions of years of evolution when your plants will love it. Yum.

What can I compost?

Yard clippings, dead weeds, and mulch. You are looking to form “layers” in your compost pile. The rule of thumb is GREEN and BROWN with scattered household organics. Green yard wastes are fresh lawn clippings, trimmed plants or weeds, etc. Brown yard wastes are fallen leaves, dried weeds, or small twigs.

Household organics. You know you have this. You make a salad and there are some stems and brown bits left over, you eat an apple and there sits the core, or you peel some fruit and the rind is left behind. The rule of thumb is that as long as it came from the soil it can go back. IF it grew from the ground somewhere, chances are you can compost it. This, of course, included coffee grounds and tea bags, but in moderation.

What can’t I compost?

Animal wastes of any kind. This includes not only feces and litter, but waste matter from food that had an animal origin. No, we’re not being vegetarian here, but don’t you dare chuck your trimmings or bones into a compost unless you want rodents and skunks rummaging through it. (By the way, cleaned egg shells are okay to compost.)

Large organics. Chunks of sod, wood, or thick branches will break down eventually (emphasis on EVENTUALLY) but we’d like to use this compost in, you know, our lifetime.

REMEMBER…

Your compost needs water to survive. The composting is happening because micro-organisms are breaking down the organic matter as food, and turning it into rich, useful soil. Your pile should be roughly as wet as a squeezed sponge: damp, but not sopping, dry but not parched.

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Composting - Part 1 - Why? >> One of the more annoying things I've noticed since a number of houses on our street have put down sod and begun the never-ending process of mowing the grass is the exponential increase in yard waste sitting by the curb on garbage

Composting - Part 1 - Why?

Archived in Landscape, Outdoors, Compost | 1 Comment

One of the more annoying things I’ve noticed since a number of houses on our street have put down sod and begun the never-ending process of mowing the grass is the exponential increase in yard waste sitting by the curb on garbage day. If the nineties taught us nothing else, I think, they taught us that a simple wooden or plastic box in our backards can act as a controlled rot accelerator for yard wastes and uncooked kitchen vegetable matter.

The Benefits of Composting

1) Reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

That’s right. Not only are you saving money on big plastic bags that you only fill with lawn clippings, et cetera, but you are reducing the amount of trash that needs to be hauled away from your property — thus reducing both the quantity in the dump and the quantity of fuel required by all those trucks needed to haul it there in the first place.

2) Reuse those precious organic materials

A compost lets you get all sorts of functionality out of your organic matter. Sure, it seems like it’s abundant now. But in the vast, sterile confines of an infinite universe, organic matter is more precious than gold. Okay, so maybe not. But why throw away millions of years of evolution when your plants will love it. Yum.

3) Recycle the natural nutrients that you pay money for elsewhere

Nitrogren, phosphorous, and potassium. You read those ingredients on the back of a bag of fertilizer. But you might just be surprised how rich that compost is when it comes to simple nutrients that come in a friendly, ready-to-use pile of warm compost. Why not save money on chemical fertilizers that probably aren’t nearly as rich as a simple scoop of composted plant matter?

Easy Composters You Can Build The Science of Composting The Secret Life of Compost: A \ The Rodale Book of Composting: Easy Methods for Every Gardener

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Read more posts by Gary W (About the Author)

del.icio.us Digg it Earthlink Furl iFeedReaders ma.gnolia Maple.nu Netvouz Netscape RawSugar reddit Scuttle Shadows Simpy Spurl StumbleUpon Wink Yahoo MyWeb

Posts that might have similar content:

Gary’s Construction Anecdotes >> For your convenience, here are some of the articles I've written on my landscaping and contruction experiences. As usual remember: I’m just a guy who has done this work for myself, once. This is just my experience, so do more research

Composting - Part 2 - What? >> AS I NOTED in Part 1, a compost lets you get all sorts of functionality out of your organic matter. Sure, it seems like it’s abundant now. But in the vast, sterile confines of an infinite universe, organic matter is more precious

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