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!