Upsides to the Down Economy/ Compost Happens

My compost heap is an essential part of my garden. Although I have tried composting for a long time (not always successfully) I finally got a compost bin for Mother's Day. (Yes, I realize that's kind of pathetic but I wanted it!) With my compost bin came a compost starter, ingredients for speeding up the composting process that you sprinked on it. You can also make a bin with cement blocks or chicken wire, if you're so inclined. What to put in the compost? Coffee grinds, tea bags, paper towels, shredded newspaper, vegetable peelings, grass, fruit or vegetables that have gone bad, egg shells, ashes from the grill, leaves. Even lint from the drier, hair from a brush and fingernail clippings (I know, gross!) can be used, because it all breaks down eventually. Don't use: meat or dairy products, fat, diseased plants or weeds or poop of any kind. There is a ratio of stuff you're supposed to use and a way to layer it all (green stuff, dry stuff, dirt, kitchen waste) but I finally just gave up and now throw things in there willy nilly, and it still works. I had a rat in the compost heap and found out that was because it was too dry. Compost needs air and water to break down, so I try to make sure it's wet enough now and use a pitch fork kind of thing to stir it up. If it stinks, that means the pile is packed too tightly or the wrong materials have been used. Bugs and earthworms in your compost, is a sign it's working right. When I open the bottom, there is usually rich, loamy compost. If something hasn't broken down (like corn cobs or nut shells) I just put them back on top, to go through another round. It's a great feeling to know you're using what would just end up in the garbage (and then rotting in a landfill) to make compost. It's made a huge difference in how well my garden grows. Mary Mary, Quite Contrary, make some compost and your garden will grow just fine, like mine!

Photos are of:

A typical day's kitchen waste (strawberry hulls, coffee grinds, tea bags, paper towels),

my compost bin,

inside my compost bin and

what the compost looks like when it comes out the bottom.