Monday, May 18

Composting: Week 1

Our composter is fully loaded and has been curing for a week now. Yaa! I am very excited to see how our first batch “grows”. I am sure that there will be a learning curve to this process but I am hoping that it won’t be too steep.

So far the process is going fine but there have been a few things that I have learned:
  • Composting is going to take a lot longer than I had originally thought it would.
  • A filled composter is VERY heavy and takes a lot of work to roll and rotate
  • This composter holds A LOT of material
  • I am surprised at just how much composting material we had

Between composting, recycling, and upcycling, my family of 4 has been consistently generating only 1 kitchen size bag of garbage a week. Not too shabby.

I had mentioned that I thought my kids would have fun rolling this around the yard….NOT! I can't beleive how heavy this thing is. I rolled it up and down the yard a couple of times and I definitley counted that as my daily work out!

I have also been reading and learning about composting;
EPA has a very informative site:

What to Compost - The IN List

  • Animal manure
  • Cardboard rolls
  • Clean paper
  • Coffee grounds and filters
  • Cotton rags
  • Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
  • Eggshells
  • Fireplace ashes
  • Fruits and vegetables
  • Grass clippings
  • Hair and fur
  • Hay and straw
  • Houseplants
  • Leaves
  • Nut shells
  • Sawdust
  • Shredded newspaper
  • Tea bags
  • Wood chips
  • Wool rags
  • Yard trimmings

What Not to Compost - The OUT List
Leave Out/Reason Why

  • Black walnut tree leaves or twigs: Releases substances that might be harmful to plants
  • Coal or charcoal ash: Might contain substances harmful to plants
  • Dairy products (e.g., butter, egg yolks, milk, sour cream, yogurt): Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
  • Diseased or insect-ridden plants: Diseases or insects might survive and be transferred back to other plants
  • Fats, grease, lard, or oils: Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
  • Meat or fish bones and scraps: Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
  • Pet wastes (e.g., dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter): Might contain parasites, bacteria, germs, pathogens, and viruses harmful to humans
  • Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides: Might kill beneficial composting organisms

Treehugger.com also has some great articles, helpful tips, and suggestions for how to make bins.

Hopefully the next pictures I post will be of our compost dirt!

2 comments:

marina villatoro said...

Hi, I'm moving now and will lose my beloved compost hole that I have here on my property. I'm looking at options for what to do since I'll be living in Antigua, which is a city. This definitely looks like something that might work once I get there!

Over Coffee - the green edition said...

I will tell you that it takes a long time to assemble but so far I love it! You may also look into one of the under the sink worm composters.

Good Luck with your move!