One Green Thing: Composting

As I sit here at the computer trying to think of what in the world I want to share today, my bananas are turning blacker by the minute.  Which reminds me that I need to compost them.  Which reminds me that it’s currently too dark outside to do such.  Which reminds me that it’s getting late.  Which reminds me that I promised myself I would post something today.  Which brings me back to my rotting bananas.

So let’s talk about composting, shall we?

Just over a year ago I told the Hubster that I wanted a compost bin for Christmas.  That’s it.  Nothing fancy-schmancy.  Just a big ol’ dirt barrel to put kitchen and yard waste in.

Seeing as how Santa brought me an iPad instead of a composter, and I am really more gadget-girl than pioneer-woman anyway, I didn’t complain.  But I also didn’t know how I was going to compost anything without a proper bin.  However, with the handy-dandy iPad I could sit on the backyard swing and do all my research.  Win-win, right?

I eyed my newest flower-bed and determined that its small, round shape might be just perfect for what I needed.  It spans about 4 feet in diameter, and essentially is about 15 inches deep.  I began to read all about composting, and most of my reading told me that I had a snowball’s chance of composting in anything less than a four-foot deep barrel or pile.

I got discouraged.

Then I got determined.

That’s how I roll.

I learned about white-hat bacteria composting and black-hat bacteria composting.  (Who knew, right?  It’s like the Yin and Yang of decay.)  Basically, if you close up the waste matter and allow it to rot with stagnant heat and no air circulation, you get all the bad bacteria which will eventually decay the waste matter into dirt (black-hat dudes).  On the other hand, if you allow your waste matter to stay humid yet open to air circulation, you get the beneficial bacteria (the white-hat dudes.)

FYI, I can’t find the original source of this life-altering information.  I hope I am remembering it correctly.

Now, although I was encouraged by the fact that my little open-air compost pile was going to promote the white-hat bacteria, I am far too impatient to sit around waiting for anything to decay.  So, as you know, I bought worms.  I wanted some hungry little fellas who were willing to eat through all the stuff I threw into the pile.  There have been a few times that I thought the worms abandoned me, but I find that with each new addition of goodies, they seem to multiply profusely.

It is also important to note here that I had to lay a wire covering over the top of my compost pile so that Mabel (or any other wandering yard guest) wouldn’t snoop around in it.  But Mabel is going to snoop around in any and everything, whether we want her to or not.  Case in point:

 

(Busted!  Sadly, this next pic is too small for you to see the dirt clinging to her bottom lip.)

I knew I didn’t have to worry about Mason digging in it.  Unless he were to smell pizza or a McDonald’s cheeseburger, he couldn’t care less what’s in the pile.  And that’s how he rolls, thankyouverymuch.

So what goes into the compost pile?  Almost anything.  All fruit and vegetable waste, provided it has not touched any oils or proteins.  I throw in some plant cuttings, pine straw, coffee grounds, basically anything growing that I pluck from its place goes into the composter.  And I have even been known to throw in some bunny droppings and their all-natural bedding waste.  (Animal droppings are okay as long as the animal is a vegetarian.  You want NO protein in the pile, or it will smell.)  All this being said, I am extremely careful not to put anything that is not expressly compostable or organic in the pile.  For instance, bleached coffee filters are a no-no as far as I am concerned, as are paper towels.  I now buy the If You Care brand natural coffee filters (catchy brand name, eh?) and I notice that they break down and disappear rather quickly.  It is important to keep in mind that whatever chemicals are in the scraps will also be in your compost.

This picture shows how my fruit and vegetable waste is put into a small hole dug into the compost.  Then it gets all covered up with dirt, sprayed with the hose, and left to decompose (or get eaten by the worms).  It usually takes about two weeks for a pile like this to completely turn to compost.

Is my compost bin going to provide me all the renewed compost material that I need to refresh my garden each spring?  Not even.  But, it’s a great source of potting soil for the few pots that I insist on keeping going, and if I can ever guarantee that Mabel won’t destroy new plantings, then the hostas and hibiscus that I have planned for that bed in the distant future are going to LOVE living there.

Day 327: Makin’ Dirt

Victoria saw me digging in my compost pile the other day as I was burying some potato peels.  She peered over my shoulder and exclaimed, “Oh my gosh!! Is that turning into DIRT?”

“Yes, sweetie. That’s what compost is: plant and vegetable material that biodegrades and becomes nutritious soil for our growing plants.”

“Wowwwwwww!  That is waaaaaaaay cool!!!”  And then she skipped right back inside, leaving me to wonder how I had been composting for four months and she NOT know what was happening.  Maybe she thought I liked burying food and then playing with it later?  I can only imagine what she told her friends.

The compost pile is working beautifully!!  I actually have dirt in place of kitchen scraps.  And the termites I reported seeing earlier?  Finally gone.  Well, for the most part.  When I turned the pile yesterday I didn’t see any termites, so I guess they got bored and moved on…which is actually probably not a good thing.  Oh dear…

Ahh, but my worms are still enjoying the pile.  They are a huge reason my compost pile is working so well, I know.  I feared that they would abandon me, but I keep giving them plenty of incentives to stick around.  I’m amazed at how fast they work.  We added a whole container of kitchen scraps just last week, and already they are barely recognizable.  This reassures me that my “little” compost pile can survive and succeed.

I have a plastic container at the office now so that I can collect all the coffee grounds from the 7+ pots of coffee we make per day.  The coffee grounds are going all in my flower beds and in my compost pile too.  They add acid to the soil, and the herbs LOVE them.  Last year my basil grew by leaps and bounds on a diet of coffee grounds.  This year I’m sharing the grounds with ALL my plants. 

Lord, I just hope my new gardenias like coffee!

Day 264: Welcoming the Worms

Tags

compost, garden worms, red worms, Uncle Jim's Worm Farm

TAA-DAA!!  The worms have arrived!  Happy and squishy and ready for their new home, they came shipped to me in a fabric drawstring bag stuffed into the kitchen scrap canister that I ordered.  They sat on my desk through most of yesterday.  Then at quittin’ time I asked if they were ready to go home.  They answered with a resounding “YES!” (actually, they wiggled a little) and I scooped the box and headed to the car. 

Confession:  I seriously believed that I might be totally creeped out by the worms. Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm site has the cutest little cartoon compost worms in the header, and that kept everything comical for me.  (See this little dude?)  But the moment of truth came when I was told my worms had arrived, and a large brown box was placed on my desk.  Three co-workers watched as I opened the box, and for a moment I thought I might totally wig out and do that embarrassing (yet completely uncontrollable) oh-my-god-there’s-a-bug-in-the-room dance. 

But, I mean, c’mon.  They’re just worms. 

I thought to myself as I cut into the box, “You can do this.  These worms are going to help in the compost pile and be an integral part of all this gardening you plan to do.  You are going to have to be cool with them squirming around you.  Cowgirl up, Lori.”

So I did.  I watched them closely for a while at my desk.  But they were in a state of shock, I think, what with their Postal Service ride and all.  I gave them something to drink and let them rest.  When I brought them home we went out to the compost pile and I watered it down a bit.  Then just as the instructions said, I poured the mass of 2,000 worms out onto the top of the compost and ceremoniously covered them with the handy piece of newspaper provided by Uncle Jim. Within 24-48 hours they should be over their travel experience and start doing what worms do best.  I think they will be happy here. 

And I think I’m going to like having them around.  They kinda grow on ya. 

I know… Eww.  🙂