The Composting Post

So here are my thoughts and ideas about composting Composting 101 Last summer my friend Sarah teased me that I was a “composter at heart” even though I swore up and down I wouldn’t start composting anytime soon. At Thanksgiving Wyatt and I teased my aunt and uncle from San Francisco about composting and the fact that we didn’t do that so they needn’t save fruit peels, eggshells, and vegetable cuttings in a bin next to the sink. Side note: In Los Angeles we have three rubbish bins to put out each week. The three bins are a blue one for recycling (newspaper, aluminum, glass, plastic, cardboard etc), a black one for regular trash (non-recycling, non-yard waste and the like), and a green one specifically for yard waste and composting type materials. I began to think more about composting as I planted my jalapenos, tomatoes, and basil plants this spring. I considered it even more strongly when I drove to a free mulch pile to fill up a bin that I would then be spreading over my garden. So for my birthday I decided to compost. It helps that the LA Farmer’s Markets put out all sorts of manuals that indicate exactly how easy it is to compost. I have two compost bins in use. Inside compost bin and outside compost tumbler bin. Inside: Countertop kitchen bin that has a filter on the top and holds about 1 gallon of scraps. We fill this with egg shells, fruit peels and cuttings, coffee grounds, tea leaves, vegetable scraps, and left over veggies from Wylie. I don’t put any animal products in the bin. Outside: A compost tumbler. Big, black and turns easily. It holds tons of grass, yard clippings, all the things in the countertop bin get dumped into it. It has holes for the excess fluid or Compost Tea to flow out. The bonus of this composter is that it turns easily while closed. When I need the compost, I'll be able to roll it where I want it and just spread the compost. Compost tea is something that is akin to wonder juice for gardens. Many of the local nurseries around here sell the "tea" to gardeners. So what does this mean for my garden, my rubbish and my life. Right now the only place it's a bit different is that the kitchen sink is a bit easier to clean after making dinner as the scraps are going in the kitchen container not the disposal. We also don't generate as much trash as we used to with all the scraps. I poured the water that used to clean out the interim outside bin in the garden. I SWEAR my jalepenos grew as a result. Updates as the compost grows. Reminder to those of you who have animals, NO poop other than cow or horse can go in the compost. For those of you diapering with g-diapers, the wet ones can go in the compost bin. Poopy ones go in the toilet. Happy Days!