21 October 2007

unexpected things one can compost

You may recall we embarked on a worm composting adventure a few months back. Partly out of environmental consciousness and partly out of a desperate need to amuse a 2 year old, we got a worm bin. It's been going well. So well that I decided we should probably try regular composting again. I tried a few years back but things never got cooking. Adding the magic, "make it cook NOW" additives had no effect. My guess is that the green to brown ratio was off but I really don't know what was wrong.

Yesterday I went to composting class. It came with a free bin, a pretty cool looking one too, though it does look a bit like the love child of R2D2 and Darth Vader. The instructor made it all sound a little too easy but fall makes me happy and thus, overly optimistic.

I learned a lot in class, including some unusual things that can go in the compost bin. I had no idea dryer lint and dog hair were compostable. The rule we learned is as long as no animal products are involved, it's probably okay. For example, leftover toast with margarine is okay to toss in the bin. With butter? Disqualified.

With a little luck, we will have lovely compost to add to the planting beds in the spring. Or we'll have a smelly mess to clean up.

3 comments:

Jenn said...

We never had anything special, just a bin, but it was great for the garden! Coffee grounds are great for the acidity of the soil. Once we got the chickens, the compost went by the wayside. The chickens composted scraps much faster (and butter was okay).

ClumberKim said...

You have chickens!? I'm envious. There isn't much better than fresh eggs in the morning.

I just found out one can have up to five chickens in Pittsburgh. I don't see it happening here though. I did suggest to someone at my composting class that I'd love to do co-op (no pun intended) chickens. I'd be happy to help with maintenance in exchange for 4-6 eggs a week.

Rebecca said...

What are you planning to do with the compost? Put it on your flowers? Are you growing vegetables?

Speaking of things to do with the kids, do you know about Playtime, at the LeRoi RD. church, on Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:30? It's sort of a small-scale version of the Toy Lending Library - lots of toys for the kids and the moms (and other caregivers) sit around chatting and nursing their babies.