We have a garbage epidemic. Many of us take our garbage for granite, I know I do. We just put it out on the curb and the garbage man takes it away. But where does it go? To the garbage dump in the sky? I really don't know. We do have a recycling program in or neighborhood and they recycle everything but #7. And where does this go? This is something worth looking into. AS for me my garbage has a secret...
Not all of it gets thrown away. Whatever is compostable is composted. What does this include? Fruits, vegetables, egg shells, paper (not the shiny stuff), newspaper, leaves, grass cutting, weeds, flowers, tea bags, coffee grounds, hair (yuck right! but hair is high in nitrates and nitrates compost!) and absolutely no dairy or meat products. Otherwise it would smell and attract critters.
So I compost and my garbage is now cut in half!
I would one day like to have a HUGE organic garden. The best organic fruits and vegetables I buy come from Whole Paycheck Foods. I am tired of paying their prices but I will until I have my garden thriving. However, I must get real with myself, this is not going to happening over night or even this summer, I know this much but all I need to do is just start.
This is the overgrown messy area that I would like to transform. I am composting for this area. This is how I started,
I headed over to the Menards and picked out the cheapest garbage can I could find but one was not enough so I eventually had to get two.
My husband drilled holes all around it, 3 inches apart and I stared to fill it. No garden is going to thrive unless it has rich organic matter to grown in. If I compost all summer I will have enough dirt for this area.
This is how I started my compost. When you compost you have to adhere to a certain ratio of browns to greens (you can read more about this at Organic Gardening) therefore, I filled more than half my compost with shredded junk mail and newspaper. Since then I have added yard waste, table scraps and yes hair.
We teach our children how important it is to recycle we should also teach them how to compost. Maybe they would have more respect for the earth if they know how to create dirt from garbage. A compost can be down on a smaller level with a plastic container for kids. They just need to add their scraps, mix the compost, and watch the organism come to break down the matter!
I love composting! But I don't do it here in the city :( I should, though. Like you say-cuts way down on overall trash volume. And I love your little garden, it looks so good!
ReplyDeleteI have tried to compost in the past but haven't had much luck. I recently joined an organic CSA for my fruits and veggies and am going to suggest having a compost drop off there since many people around me have tiny yards.
ReplyDeleteEmily
domesticdeadline.blogspot.com
How kind of your husband to help you. Turning garbage into something useful is like helping keep Mother Nature from drowning. Were you able to transform the overgrown messy area successfully?
ReplyDelete