Easy Composting

Gardening season is here! And part of gardening (flower or vegetable) is good soil. And the most frugal way to get good soil is to compost. It’s not as hard as it sounds.

My husband started composting last year. We didn’t buy any expensive equipment or go out of our way to make it happen. Here’s what he did…

First, he built this box out of scrap pieces of old decking we had. Not only is it sturdy but it’s built out of slats so there’s plenty of air circulation which is important in composting.

Then he filled the bottom with dry leaves. I started saving my produce scraps. When my container was full, we emptied it on top of the leaves and then spread more leaves over that. After a few days of layering, he mixed the contents all together. And we kept layering. Then we just let it sit, stirring every now and then. Once it started looking like dirt, we knew it was ready to add to the flower beds or pots.

There are lots of websites that give step by step instructions on composting. Here are a few of my favorites:

Passionate Homemaking – Worm Composting
VegWeb.com – Fundamentals of Composting
Dummies.com – Making Compost

You can buy all kinds of containers to make composting easier but a dark Rubbermaid container or wooden bin will work just as well.

Because my husband rocks the welder, his plans are to eventually build his own compost tumbler, however, he has to build my tomato plant hanger first

But I digress.

The most important things to remember when composting are:

1. Air (good circulation is crucial)
2. Water (keep it moist but not soaking wet)
3. Food (produce scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags – no meat or dairy)
4. Brown matter (dry leaves, black & white newspaper, thin cardboard, etc)

If you have that down, it’s a piece of cake and like dessert for your plants.

Tagged as: composting, Gardening, Home & Garden