Compost Dreams Come True

Last fall, I was reallllllly wanting to start composting for a winter project. 

Here I listed a few reasons why I wanted to start!

In January, I started!! And just last week, in May, I used our first batch for my summer garden.  And it felt amazing. And seeds started popping up right away, so they must also feel amazing. 

Here is how I started:  

I drilled holes in our old 30 gallon metal trash can. (I got this new smaller one for the kitchen-way less trash). 

I filled the bottom with a few inches of organic potting soil from my favorite garden store in Des Moines.  

And we began to add our everyday food scraps and household items to the bin! 

For a quick fly - by of how and what and when to compost: 

Nitrogen (Kitchen):  

- leafy greens  

-produce scraps  

-bananas peels and other fruit 

-citrus and melon rinds (or fruit) 

-coffee and tea grounds  

-eggshells

-houseplant trimmings  

-spices, seeds, and nuts (EXCEPT WALNUT SHELLS) 

Carbon (Yard and Paper):

-shredded newspaper (not glossy)  

-organic soil

-shredded brown boxes  

-toilet paper and paper towel rolls  

-straw and wood chips 

-twigs and dead leaves  

-pine cones and needles  

-egg cartons  

-brown paper bags  

-dryer lint and vacuum dustings

-hair  

-organic cotton balls and q-tips

These are not allowed: 

-meat or fish 

-eggs

-bones

-diary  

-oils and fats  

-charcoal  

-pet waste  

-fertilizer  

You must add in a 2:1 ratio- 2 parts brown carbon to 1 part fresh nitrogen.  

This keeps the Ph balanced and things decomposing at the perfect rate.  

I finally had the right weather and time to put together my little apartment sized garden this last week!  

Tomatoes, peppers, spinach, and kale this year.  

I added the soil like compost to the  rocky/ terrible soil and I am pretty sure it's thanking me! 

 -Emily