We LOVE our organic produce, but with the rising costs of food in general we DON’T love the skyrocketing prices of pesticide free food. So with the warm weather approaching, we’re excited to get started on our annual garden growing where we can pick our own fresh veggies everyday without having to make the costly trip to Whole Foods. So in order to keep our soil healthy AND save ourselves a huge amount of trash, we’ve begun collecting anything and everything that can be used for a compost pile. It’s only been 3 days and were amazed at the massive amount of great materials we’ve collected!
Composting Tips
- To reduce any smell coming from your mixture, make sure to turn and rotate your pile often. This will also aid with the decomposition process
- Apply the compost 2 to 4 weeks prior to planting so that everything has a chance to blend in with your soil
- DON’T use any non-organic materials. Pesticide ridden elements will be harmful to your garden
- For faster composting, keep your materials in direct sunlight or at the warmest temperature feasible
- Finished compost generally shrinks to half the volume you started with, but it’s much denser and heavier
- Good compost should look rich, dark soil
What can be Composted?
- Any organic vegetable or fruit leftovers (moldy or spoiled is great! And all seeds, cores, peels and pits are fine)
- Grass
- Paper towel pieces
- Coffee or tea grinds
- Soy milk or tofu
- Fish bones
- Feathers
- Pencil shavings
- Lint
- Egg shells
- Wooden toothpicks or matches
- Stale bread, cereal, pasta or potato chips
- Hair or nail clippings
Happy Gardening 🙂
About the Author
It is however not always possible to modify certain conditions and restrictions that come with the property.
One of the largest permaculture communities in the US,
Earthhaven Ecovillage, is located in the nearby town of Black Mountain.
The wildlife they are exposed to is often mediated by technology or educational curriculum that just doesn’t offer the allure of a virtual
world.