have a compost pile

I tried to see if my apartment complex would be willing to set up a compost area (especially as there are about 40-50 of us gardening in the community plots – we’d certainly use it). They are unwilling to set it up, and, I suppose I am, too. There are a lot of people in the complex who can’t follow the directions for throwing trash into the dumpsters, and I can just see trash ending up in the compost pile.

Since this is my lifelong list, I’ll leave this up as a reminder that when I find a new place to live, it would be great to find a place where I can do this. Or the money (and space – I hate my small kitchen!) to buy an indoor one: http://www.naturemill.com/

I grew up with a compost heap in the backyard that my dad created when I was too young to remember. I’m not sure if I can say I ‘have’ one since it’s my parents’ garden, but I looked after the garden for a few months at a time, about 4 times when they went overseas. I reckon that’s gotta count.

I sort of started my compost pile inadvertently and I love it! I have a little patch of soil in the patio of my apartment… and a bunny for a pet. I was getting really lazy and tired of walking to our apartment’s dumpster to clean out my rabbit’s waste every day. So, after reading that rabbit droppings are actually the richest and cleanest of any animal manure I decided to toss my bunny’s waste and leftover hay outside in the patio. It was pretty disgusting at first, but after about a month of managing the pile, the waste became healthy, natural, nutrient-filled fertilizer. What started as me just being lazy caused me to do something rewarding for myself and beneficial to the environment. The feeling is great and it prompted me to learn more about composting. Its actually pretty addicting too. I take great pleasure in finding dead leaves or kitchen waste to throw inside my compost pile. It takes time before you can actually see your pile turning into compost… but its one of those things where you have to just get started. Once you get the ball rolling the process itself is inevitable.