But really, I am. Almost two years ago I decided to take the plunge. This year, it's really happening. Living in a townhouse you would think composting would be a difficult feat, but you would be wrong!
In addition to looking for a responsible and chemical free way to boost the growth of my plants (especially after the pumpkin fail of 2014) I also wanted to decrease the amount of waste my family produces. I don't know about you, but this sounds win-win to me.
Starting was easy. Really. And it wasn't a high cost project. With the direction of Pinterest/Blissfully Domestic and some good faith I was on my way! I purchased a 20 gallon storage container in a nice beautiful green shade. (Darker can be better, but it's what they had and it works for me.) I pulled out our handy dandy power drill and used a drill bit to drill small holes around the entire container in no particular pattern. (Word to the wise - use the right drill bit. A brad point bit or a spade bit, which both have points on the ends, make the hole drilling much easier.) Once all the holes are drilled, you are ready!
completed compost bin in use!
After that, add some brown material. You can use anything from bits of cardboard, dirt, leaves, pine cones, assorted natural material to create a base. (These things are also important for helping the compost "breathe.") Once you have created your base you're ready to start adding scraps from your kitchen! There are varying rules and opinions on what you can and can't add. I stick to uncooked fruits, vegetables and egg shells. I don't want to worry about oils or meats getting in that shouldn't.
As for me, I keep a medium plastic storage container in my kitchen where I toss food scraps as they evolve. This houses a lot of apple + pear cores, veggie peelings, cantaloupe rinds, etc. I take it out every day or so, or once it's full and add it on in! It's good to stir it up or jostle the container each time you add more green in. The one thing to remember is keep adding brown material to keep enough air in the container so it doesn't become a soppy mess.
(aah, beautiful compost! Can you tell what fruit variety we really love at home?)
Through composting we have kept so much extra trash out of our garbage can and have really minimized our trash output in general.
While I love this benefit, my favorite one is the unexpected items that come from composting - the unintentional plants! Most notable so far, I added some compost in with my lemon tree that was needing some love. The tree has flourished since the addition about a month ago, and we have added a vine wielding companion to the pot. It took some deductive research by my husband and myself to debunk it. Low and behold a watermelon plant is growing! But this lady is flowering and if she doesn't start to hurt the lemon tree, she may last through the summer.
To your left here are some additional lovelies that have shown up most recently. Definitely a tomato on the left, and I assume a melon to the right. (Only because P and I are in route to becoming melons ourselves.)
I do have some larger compost dreams for the future (see dual chamber rotating composter) but for now I'll settle for a nice counter top upgrade for the kitchen: White Ceramic Compost Bucket.
Do you have any fun stories or tips for composting? I'd love to hear them!
