Composting, our most recent project.

Approximately two weeks ago we decided we were completely and utterly fed up with throwing out unused bits of produce as well as spoiled food. I have been buying more and more fresh produce in an effort to work more whole foods into our diets and the amount of unused bits was particularly annoying to me, let alone the appearance of the occasional spoiled veggie. We had looked into composting before, but for one reason or another we always held off actually starting a bin. We were apartment dwellers, where would we put the thing? and what about the smell? and then what do you do with the stuff once you've got it?

Armed with his internet savvy, Gareth found some pretty helpful websites while I scooted on over to the library and peeked into some older books on gardening. We learned that a compost PILE doesn't have to be huge, or smelly. And better yet, you can actually compost things like paper and hair! Wow!

Here are some links that we found useful:

WikiHow - How to Compost Safely
StopWaste.org - Build your own Bin

While most of the plans from StopWaste.org are pretty simple, we opted to purchase a large, clear plastic bin to house our compost. Per the recommendations from WikiHow, we drilled holes in the sides and bottom of the container and layered the material we had been gathering, watering it all down and putting the lid on (which is by no means tight-fitting). We also placed clean, reused plastic trays (you know, the ones the sushi from the grocery comes in?) under the bin to collect the "tea" made from the water as it percolates through the organic matter. This is reportedly a good fertilizer for plants, and if nothing else, you can reuse it to moisten the compost.

As for the smell, it kinda smells like onions and licorice! I am responsible for the onions, but I have no idea where the licorice comes in! And you really have to stick your head in there to smell it. Anyway, if you don't put any meat or oil or fat in your bin, you shouldn't have any problem with odor (not to mention raccoons, rats and crows, oh my)! I even go so far as to rinse my eggshells.

The only bothersome part of our bin setup is that, while keeping the compost in an aerobic state fends off odoriferous bacteria, it attracts fruit flies. We would recommend keeping the bin away from the house, if possible. However, it is also prudent to keep it in the shade. For us, that means on the porch, next to the door! So I just have to run out, stir things up and then wait for it all to settle before I sneak back inside!

And going back to the problem of using up all that heavenly humus, our desire to compost also happened to coincide with my desire to grow my own veggies (its either that or find a better source of produce! sheesh). Stay tuned for more on that project--its still in the planning and daydreaming stage, although I certainly have plenty of containers to start things off right!