Saturday, May 28, 2011

gettin dirty

Backyard compost

We are so excited to have a big pile of nutrient-rich dirt!  I can grow a nice little garden and pot my flowers and Luke can fill in all the holes in our lawn (like most men, he derives immense pleasure from presiding over his green lawn - especially since we don't use chemicals to get us there.  It's all about hard work and getting dirty).  And of course, we'll cut down on the amount of trash we throw away each day. 



We built a three-sided 3x3 enclosure to somewhat contain the mess behind our garage.  We decided not to buy a plastic container because we couldn't figure out how the little bugs and worms could get in to work their magic.  According to my farmer friend (thank you, Rainbow) we must have 2 parts brown matter (dead leaves, twigs, paper, and other dry items) to one part green (food, grass clippings, etc.).  We are told that coffee grounds, egg shells, and fruit rinds are wonderful for the compost pile, but that proteins aren't - no meat, no dairy.  We will turn it with a pitchfork every few weeks or so.

We are in definitely in need of dead leaves and dry matter!  I'm off to cut-up some newspapers.  It's somewhat stinky thanks to the grass clippings, as our big girl can attest to...



But we are excited to watch the process unfold!  I love that we will make dirt from our vegetables, which will grow more vegetables which will provide more compost...Ah, the cycle of life. 

Do you have any tips for us as we begin composting?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

hooray for composting! i started a worm compost bin a few months ago. i don't give them much citrus though, they don't seem to dig that... or onions. it may be different with an outdoor one though. way to renew the cycle of life!

Christopher said...

If you stop by the farmers market at all, they may have tips on composting, too. I am pretty sure Debbie Barron would have tips. Just look for the blue bus and her stand should be near that.