My dad is a master composter. He's been composting since before I was born, and one of my earliest memories is of playing around with worms pulled out of the compost heap. My dad likes to remind me that I used to rip the worms in half. I shudder now at the thought and apologize to any offended worms.
In the back corner of my parents' backyard, just behind the garden, tucked out of sight behind the garage, is the compost heap. It's actually a system of heaps, operating on a three-year time frame. The first heap is branches, leaves, kitchen peelings, the next heap is mostly decomposed branches, leaves, kitchen peelings from the previous year, and the last heap is the richest, most nutritious soil you can imagine. If you were a plant, you'd want to live in this soil.
My dad likes to say, "Nothing leaves this yard" and it's so inspiring!
Things you can compost:
Vegetable Peelings
Rotten Fruit and Veg
Coffee Grounds
Pits from fruit
Citrus Rinds
Egg Shells
Leaves
Branches
Grass Clippings
etc etc! Simply cover these items with some dirt and let the worms, bugs and icky gross things do their job!
If you have a garden, you'll have the best soil in town! It's also very educational for little kids and big kids, and it helps out this environment of ours. Every little bit helps!
Here in my apartment in Hoboken, I do not have a compost heap, but I keep my fruit and vegetable scraps in a plastic bag in my freezer to hand off to my dad when he comes for dinner.
Since I get my fruits and veg from Catalpa Ridge, an organic community supported farm, he's getting the best stuff!
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Compost is a great natural fertilizer not only for the vegetable garden but also for everything else that grows in dirt including the lawn, shrubs, small trees and flowers.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, Dad! It brings to mind your success with the Rhododendron, infusing the soil there with lots of good compost and water and the next year getting tons of blossoms!
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