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DIY Dirt: Anybody Can Do It!
Here’s a fun step you can take this week: start composting your kitchen waste! Composting reduces landfill waste and greenhouse gas production, and might even save you money on waste hauling and garden fertilizer.
Ken Benson, a compost expert and director of Horticultural Education at Triton College in River Grove, IL, declares that compost is better than any commercial fertilizer. “Any fertilizer package will have nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, but the trace elements, they’re in the compost. Zinc is one,” Benson says. Green living should include living amidst natural matter!
Gone are the days of messy, smelly compost heaps. The going green trend means that bins of all sizes can be easily found at garden retailers and online, where you will also find instructions on building your own composting bin. Once you’ve established your main compost bin outdoors, it’s time to create a kitchen catch-all bin. Find a small plastic container with a lid to keep near your kitchen sink or garbage bin. Place all food scraps, including coffee grounds and egg shells, into the bin and empty it into your outdoor bin when it’s full. Within weeks, your compost bin will be filled with rich, organic soil to bring vibrant life to your flower and vegetable gardens.
Note: Do NOT compost meat, bones or milk products; their odors can attract unwanted critters and will produce a highly unpleasant aroma. Also, don’t throw diseased plants from this year’s harvest in the bin, unless you want to continue that tomato blight into next year.
Gone are the days of messy, smelly compost heaps. The going green trend means that bins of all sizes can be easily found at garden retailers and online, where you will also find instructions on building your own composting bin. Once you’ve established your main compost bin outdoors, it’s time to create a kitchen catch-all bin. Find a small plastic container with a lid to keep near your kitchen sink or garbage bin. Place all food scraps, including coffee grounds and egg shells, into the bin and empty it into your outdoor bin when it’s full. Within weeks, your compost bin will be filled with rich, organic soil to bring vibrant life to your flower and vegetable gardens.
Note: Do NOT compost meat, bones or milk products; their odors can attract unwanted critters and will produce a highly unpleasant aroma. Also, don’t throw diseased plants from this year’s harvest in the bin, unless you want to continue that tomato blight into next year.
Posted: 1/8/09
We use a garbage disposal, isn't this just as good as composting instead of throwing in the trash. I know composting is helpful to grow stuff but not very practical to everyday food trash. This at least limits the trash we send to a landfill.