COMPOSTING AT HOME
How do I start a compost? What can I put in the compost? Are indoor composts going to make my kitchen smell? I had all the same questions before my husband and I (and 2 1/2 year-old daughter) rolled up our sleeves and jumped right in!
We started out by purchasing an indoor compost caddy. We found this for around $12 at Whole Foods.
This came with one charcoal filter that will last roughly 4 months. You can purchase more filters separately. We collected our indoor compost for several weeks and to my delight did not endure any foul odors at at all! We keep ours under the sink next to our garbage can. You will notice how little you actually use your garbage can once you begin an indoor compost bin!
Let's begin with items that you CAN compost:
- BROWN items with high carbon content: Cardboard/shredded paper (avoid ink). Mulch, wood chips dry leaves, bark, hay/straw and cow or horse manure.
- GREEN items with high nitrogen content: Fruits, veggies, grass clippings (untreated lawns only), egg shells, coffee grounds and tea bags.
Items to AVOID are:
- Dairy products
- Fats/oils
- Meats
- Pet waste
- Charcoal
- ANYTHING treated with chemicals or pesticides.
We started our outside compost by finding some old wooden pallets that were no longer being used (ask around at your local grocery stores/factories/etc.) and set up three separate stations. The beginning stage is your initial compost from your indoor caddy that has not began to decompose yet. Stage two is where it begins to decompose and stage three is your finished product: Compost Tea.
It's important to keep the outside compost moist and to mix/aerate it at least 2-3 times per week. You will soon begin to move your compost on to the next stage and eventually use it as a soil for your garden. Come back and visit the blog again for more tips as we continue our adventure into backyard composting.
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