Did you know 26 percent of U.S. garbage is from yard trimmings and food residuals? This equals 32 million tons a year!! Not to mention the hazardous chemical (methane) that is released from breaking down of the rotting compostable material. The U.S. is responsible for 34 percent of all methane emissions making us one of the major contributors to global climate change. Huge, right?! And how silly that it's all because we throw so much food and yard scraps in the trash! So why not throw those veggie and fruit scraps in a pail, bring them out to the compost bin and let them turn into some good stuff for your garden?
If you want to try something quicker, try worms. I haven't tried these yet, but it looks interesting after you get over the "yuck- worms" feeling. Here's a story of a lady in Mankato using little red wigglers.
I have a compost bin on the south side of our house (in the sun). I keep all my trimmings from fruits, veggies, egg shells, coffee grounds (even the paper filter) in a pail under my sink. Lidded is a necessity as it does get quite smelly when you open it if you haven't dumped in a few days. In the summer, I dump it in the compost bin nearly daily. Ideally, we'd water and turn it once weekly. However we don't, so our composting takes a bit longer. Below is some more reading on composting. Besides composting, maybe we could all work harder to buy what we're going to eat. Keep track of what we buy, so we know what we have to eat in the next couple of weeks. I make a list of what meals we have to eat after getting home from the grocery store so it's there when I'm ready to start cooking.
Happy composting!
If you want to try something quicker, try worms. I haven't tried these yet, but it looks interesting after you get over the "yuck- worms" feeling. Here's a story of a lady in Mankato using little red wigglers.
I have a compost bin on the south side of our house (in the sun). I keep all my trimmings from fruits, veggies, egg shells, coffee grounds (even the paper filter) in a pail under my sink. Lidded is a necessity as it does get quite smelly when you open it if you haven't dumped in a few days. In the summer, I dump it in the compost bin nearly daily. Ideally, we'd water and turn it once weekly. However we don't, so our composting takes a bit longer. Below is some more reading on composting. Besides composting, maybe we could all work harder to buy what we're going to eat. Keep track of what we buy, so we know what we have to eat in the next couple of weeks. I make a list of what meals we have to eat after getting home from the grocery store so it's there when I'm ready to start cooking.
Happy composting!
The U of MN extension has recommendations for building your own compost structure here: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG5553.html
If you want to read up on composting, here are some blogs:
Also, here are a few of the many books about composting that are available:
"Backyard Composting: Your complete guide to recycling yard clippings" by Harmonious Technologies
"Let it rot! The Gardener's Guide to Composting" by Stu Campbell
"Rodale Guide to Composting" by Jerry Minnich and Marjorie Hunt
"Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhof
