Composting

Okay...so we are giving composting a try.  We kept saving to purchase a compost bin from Home Depot or Costco.  But every time we had the money…something would go wrong and the money would have to be reallocated for other areas.  =(

One day I'm browsing Craigslist "free" section.  Low and behold I see someone offering a few items for free...including a composter.  So, I email them.  Only 2 of the items that I am interested in are still available...the composter is one of them.  So, we load our items and head home.

We were told that the composter had all of its parts with it.  However, upon attempting to assemble it we quickly discovered several parts were missing.  A quick trip to Home Depot and $12 later we quickly assemble our composter (retailed at $199!!!).

Typically I clean out the refrigerator every other week, right before going to the commissary.  But, it had been a bit longer because everyone had been sick, busy, etc.  So, my daughter and I started scavenging for "scraps" to toss in our bin.  I then realized that I needed to research to see exactly what I should/could put in our "new" compost bin.

I found What I can compost and what I can't compost on several sites.  A quick run down:

What to put in:

• Fruit and vegetable peelings and leaves
• tea leaves/ tea bags and coffee grounds
• fallen leaves
• grass clippings
• soft prunings
• weeds (use only young weeds; those with seed, or about to set seed, are better disposed of in the garbage bin)
• cow and horse manures
• ash (from open fireplaces)
• vacuum cleaner contents (synthetic carpet will not break down)

What NOT to put in:

• Meat, fish, chicken, dairy products & cooking oils - these may attract vermin such as mice and other pests.
• Non-living things such as plastics, bottle tops, food wrappers, metals etc
• Diseased plants
• Fruit fly infested fruit
• Pet droppings: these may contain diseases that can affect humans and other pets. Although these can be treated with the Pet Poo Converter to make them safe for use in compost. 

Other websites said not to put in cooked food.

Okay...going through the refrigerator...we had apples, oranges, carrots, celery...next we went through the potatoes, onions, and garlic...got rid of anything that was soft, very bruised, etc.  We also threw out expired eggs, hard boiled eggs, coffee grounds and tea bags from the day.

My 5 year old and 9 year old had fun running in and out with the bowl to toss into the composter; while my husband mixed in some soil, leaves, and timothy hay left over from the rabbit cages.  They each took turns flipping the composter around.

We were also given a kitchen composter...just a small plastic bin with a filter to toss in daily bits until you were ready to toss in the main composter.

This has been nice.  We make coffee and tea every day...so I just toss in the coffee, coffee filter, and tea bags.  After a day or two we just take the bin out and toss in the big composter and give it a turn!

Now, it's going to take a bit for it to all break down.  But, it's going to be so worth it I'm sure.  Our next attempt will make my 9 year old happy...a worm compost bin.  Yup!  We are going to catch and grow our own earthworms!!!!  =)  More when we get that project going!