It’s a Beautiful Thing
When I was a teenager I went to visit my sister who was living is Seattle in a darling, tiny house. She had strings of sweet peas lining the whole side of her garage, and I thought she had created paradise within sight of Lake Washington.
And to go in her house and have the scent of those amazing little flowers, placed all around in jars and vases, permeating the air–it was heaven!
But she had done something else that didn’t strike me as quite so beautiful (at least until I was older!) She had a compost pile.
Now, isn’t that a beautiful sight?
Composting… Made Easy!
My recollection is that my sister had dug down a foot or so deep, and then added organic materials such as kitchen scraps (including fruit and vegetable peelings and egg shells, but no meats or dairy), yard clippings, even coffee grounds and shredded paper!
According to this article, there are 5 easy steps to composting.
1. Shred and Chop. The smaller your ingredients, the faster you’ll have usable compost.
2. Mix dry browns and wet greens. This means to mix yard waste (grass, dry leaves, etc) and kitchen waste (vegetable and fruit peelings, cores, etc). Make sure not to make the mix too wet and bogged down.
3. Strive for Size. Your compost pile should be about 3x3x3 so that there is enough material to heat up and compost more quickly.
4. Add water as needed. The compost should not be soggy, just damp.
5. Keep things moving. The compost needs air to be mixed in. The article has a couple of methods to do that–the easiest it to just pitchfork it around, regularly mixing the stuff on the edges into the middle.
Here’s an easy, inexpensive way to Compost
Or If You Want to Go All Out…
Or…
Looks so tidy!
So to sum up…
This article from Purdue University was really helpful.
Here is another article on composting that you might like.
I liked this website that had six great ways to make compost.
I’m going to celebrate Earth Day by getting my hands in the earth!
I’ve had a compost pile in the past, but gotten away from it lately. But I’m inspired now! Look out, I’m composting again!
And then I’m going to plant hundreds of sweet peas!
Don’t forget to stop by Lassen’s this Saturday, April 20, for our Earth Day Celebrations!