Compost

We’re so used to thinking about compost as something that consists of kitchen scraps and garden clippings but there are many other things that we usually throw away that can be composted:

1. Paper Napkins and Towels. While this sort of paper is recycleable, most recycling programs do not accept it because the food residue can create a nuisance during the collection process. I found that tossing these paper items right in with the kitchen scraps works easiest and once in the compost they break down rather quickly.

2. Wine corks. They take a while to break down, and may even have some of their shape when the rest of the compost is complete, but they are natural and do better for the planet in the garden than in the landfill so toss them in the compost.

3. Cotton Swaps/Q-tips. No one should be using the plastic stick kind at all. The gross out factor of q-tips is the main reason why they cannot go into municipal recycling, but since the sticks are made of either wood or cardboard, they break down really quickly in the compost and stay out of landfills.

4. Dryer lint. Once wet it turns into almost nothing, but imagine how many dryers are in your community and then add all that “almost nothing’ together and there is a large ball of dryer lint. So toss it in the compost and it will disappear.

5. Cookie crumbs/ cracker dust. You know all that crummy remnant stuff that remains in bags of cookies, crackers, and other snacks? Dumb it into the compost. Sure, its not a lot, but carbs feed bacteria which are what do most of the work in your compost. (All that excess flour from dusting the board on which you roll flour is great for the compost too)

6. Kibble. Normal dogs eat all their food, sometimes Archibold does not, and he is pretty picky about fresh kibble. Since most dry dog foods are made of grains with only a little bit of “meat by products” they break down really easily in compost. With all the other kitchen scraps that go into the compost bucket any smell must disappear as I have never had an animal go into the compost.

7. Moldy bread. Its carbs, it breaks down quickly and feeds the bacteria that create the heat in the compost.

I am going to have to start keeping better track of what else I have tossed into the compost instead of the trash.

The containers that Whole Foods uses in their take out section are biodegradable. They are they somewhat fibery material that is often used to make drink holders, except the insides are much smoother making them leak resistant.

I started using them as my kitchen compost holder. Since they come with a lid they get covered up between additions and once full the whole thing goes into the compost. When I am out of them I resort to one of the large size coffee cans that I take from the Soup Kitchen. By the time the next shift at the Soup Kitchen comes around, I will have cleaned out the current one, tossed it into recycling, so I can take another coffee can (with lid) from the Soup Kitchen.

Well Hurricane Hannah dropped a great deal of rain on the area and some of it made its way into the compost – things are a bit wet and nasty, but when I turned it with a pitchfork, a great amount of heat was released from the center of the compost (which made the wet nasty part stink become more appratent) Hopefully the tossing of the part that got doused being mixed with the other parts will work things out.

Well, I gotta remember too, that before the downpout, all the vegetable waste from the soup kitchen was added to the compost, so there was already an overabundance of wet material. In the end nature will take its course and things will sort themselves out.

I am amazed at how quickly everything in the compost breaks down and reduces in volume. The plethora of garden clippings and kitchen waste added regularly virtually disappear. If these items were in a landfill nothing much would happen for years. Composting has not only reduced the solid waste that leaves my house, but it also produces an excellent soil amendment.

The compost seems frozen solid – perhaps the very center is still active – but from my vantage point everything was one solid mass. Up until a few weeks ago, things that were added broke down very quickly, with the freeze, items are added, freeze, and just pile up. The bin is near full.

It should be interesting when the temperatures rise above freezing and things start to thaw.

Starbucks has a program in the US whereby all the used grounds are available for use in the garden. Used coffee grounds are a great top dressing for all of the non-composters out there, but also are a great addition to your compost.

Even though I compost regularly, I often grab a bag of grounds to add to the top of the pile. Not only does it reduce the amount of waste going to a landfill, but by participating in the program, it creates a little more demand for the grounds.

While so many things are recyclable these days, some municipal recycling programs do not accept all things. Cardboard and corrugated are not accepted in the paper recycling where I am.

The rolls (tubes) from bathroom tissue usually are made with post consumer paper – some as much as 100%! – but just because they are not accepted locally means they need to head to the landfill. Being “dry” they are a great addition to all the kitchen scraps headed for the compost pile, and until they start getting moist, they hold their shape a bit allowing for just a little more oxygen in the pile.

Fans of Saturday Night Live will remember the Chopping Brocolli song…a disgrace that it never earned a Grammy.

With the temperature dropping here in the Northern Hemisphere the compost pile has slowed a bit. To help it along I have found that chopping my scraps helps a bit. Things like banana peels, avocado skin, and even brocolli stems break down in the compost bin faster if chopped. Chopping increases the surface area of the matter allowing for faster decompostion.

And while prepping your compost, you will also be honing your culinary skills. People are always impressed with great knife skills.

Metaphors are everywhere. Sometimes I think God speaks to us through metaphors.

Even compost has become a metaphor for my life. Like the compost, my life is not ready to anything yet. It’s a mix of discards, shorn off peelings, and spent coffee grounds. In time the pieces will work together to create something that will nurture and grow, something that will be a place for things of beauty to set their roots.

. . .and it’s a part of my everyday routine now.

Eventually the garden will really appreciate all the wonderful soil that is being created, but in the meantime, I will keep on keeping on with it.