I want to share my story about what I love about composting
and what the challenges are.
Long ago, my husband and I had a wire cage compost bin. We
filled it to the top with dry leaves and then added food scraps, thinking
that’s all we had to do to get compost. However, we never really got great
compost. Also, critters would comb
through our bin at night and we would find food scraps around the yard the next
morning.
We had always wanted to create good compost, so recently we took
a free composting class with the City of Austin. We learned many things, including why our
composting efforts had not worked. The
problem in our previous attempt was that we did not build our compost pile
gradually with the proper proportions of brown material to green material. We
learned a lot in the class. At the end, we were given a free covered compost
pail to collect our food scraps. After that, how could we not start composting?
Our quest then began for a compost bin that would work for
us. We thought we wanted a tumbler, but
discovered that they were too small, too heavy, too expensive, and a pain to
assemble. We finally found the perfect
bin for us. It was a PVC coated wire bin
with cabinet door-like wire closures on top. It set up easily and the top door kept
the critters out. We bought it at The Natural Gardener here in Austin. We loved
it so much we went back and bought a second one.
I worried about our having strong enough backs to turn the
compost, but I soon learned it was no big deal.
We add the material very gradually and stir it in. We have set up the second bin so we can now
let our first one cook and be totally ready to use at the beginning of the
summer.
Here is what I LOVE about having a compost pile – as I prepare
meals, I am often left with carrot tops from our garden carrots, old lettuce,
tops of leeks and other various food scraps. I actually turn this green matter
into wonderful dirt for my garden, grass and all my other plants instead of its
going to the landfill. My tiny garbage can is never even half full and my
compost bin is cooking away. There have
been no problems with critters or odors.
If you live in Austin, you can sign up for a free composting
class here.
Completion of the class includes a $75 compost bin rebate.
As always, please feel free to post any recycling or
composting questions.
HAPPY COMPOSTING!!!
You sure have gotten me thinking about starting a compost bin. Thank you.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCool! Thanks, enjoyed the posting bout composting. Dee been composting too, but no bin; maybe been binless too long...
I love composting, too. Years ago, my Quaker Friend, Otto, used to help me build compost piles in the garden at the Friends Meeting, and he would say, "It looks good enough to put cream and sugar on it and have it for dessert!"
ReplyDeleteI got the following question from one of my blog readers: “I sooo want to start composting, but how do you “stir” the compost inside the wire bin?”
ReplyDeleteBecause the top of my bin opens completely, it is easy to access the compost. You must use the proper mixture of 1 part green material to 3 parts brown material and build your compost pile slowly. You must also cut up the green stuff (kitchen scraps) into small pieces. Doing all these things makes it easier to turn or stir your compost. We use a small rake. You can also use a pitchfork or small shovel. Sometimes I just turn it by hand. You need to turn your compost fairly often because it needs oxygen to “cook” properly.
Hi Dena. When you say "brown" material do you mean dirt, leaves, or both? We have the same compost bin you have and love that we got the Austin rebate. Ellen
ReplyDelete“The Browns” (the brown material in your compost pile) consists of dead or dried leaves, dried grass clippings, dried plants, wood chips, straw, and hay. Dirt is not considered one of “the browns.” You can add a small amount of dirt, but you must be careful to not add too much because dirt is dense and can keep your compost from getting the air it needs to “cook.”
ReplyDeleteIt really helps if you shred your brown material because the smaller the pieces, the faster your material will break down and turn into compost.