(Green) Living With Cleandom

#1 reason Americans don't compost their waste is because they feel the process is complicated, time-consuming or requires special equipment.

It is not complicated
It is not time-consuming
It does not require special equipment
(special equipment may make things easier for you though)

What is compost?
The simplest definiton would be a mixture of decaying organic matter, as from leaves and manure, used to improve soil structure and provide nutrients.

Anybody can compost – if I can do it you can do it too. Bellow is a list of things you may compost as well as a few things you shouldn’t add to your compost. The rule here is: if it’s organic you can (most of the time) put it on your compost pile.

There are two ways to compost

1. Passive composting – this is the easiest way and will suit to people who just want to reduce and reuse their waste. What you do is collect your kitchen scraps, wood chips, dried leaves and so on and put it on your composting pile. It will take a while but eventually everything will decompose and turn into a rich soil.
2. Active composting – means you turn your compost regularly and control what and in what ratio goes into the pile. You aim for the “brown” (carbon-rich materials) and for the “green” (nitrogen-rich materials). Wood chips, dried leaves and basically everything that is dried is carbon-rich and kitchen scraps, grass clippings and coffee ground are nitrogen-rich.

Things you can compost:

Newspapers – shredding them before will speed up the composting process. If you have more then a better option is recycling.
Wood shavings – use only shavings from untreated wood and try to use not too much
Wood ashes – again not too much because wood ashes are alkaline and are high in Potassium. Don’t use coal and charcoal. Coal ashes contain sulfur and iron that can hurt your plants.
Cardboard – tear into small pieces, if you have a lot then recycle
Coffee filters and coffee ground – great for composting and worms love them!
Egg shells – crush them before putting on the pile. They break down slowly but are great addition to your compost
Hair – spread them out
Pine needles and pine cones – if possible shred them because they take a while to break down
Weeds and grass clipping – to avoid smell you can spread them out and let them dry a little and then put them on the pile.
Seaweed – a great material for your compost. Wash off the salt before you put it to your compost
Kitchen waste – corn cobs and cornstalks (the smaller pieces the better), apple cores, banana and carrot peelings, tea bags, melon rinds, egg shells, leftover veggies and fruit. They all are rich in nutrients, thus a great addition to compost.
Manure – one of the best materials for your compost. Manure for composting can come from chickens, sheep, pigs, goats, rabbits, horses, cows, ducks and other vegetarian animals.

Things you should not compost

Meat – it will decompose eventually but it will cause a bad odor and attract animals
Fat, oils, grease and bones
Lime – can kill composting process
Charcoal briquettes
Coal ashes – they contain a large amount of iron and sulfur that can injure your plants
Dog/cat droppings and cat litter – may have disease organisms
Fish bones and scraps – they attract rodents and smell.

The city of Long Beach provides a free composting and smart gardening workshops that are held every third Saturday. For the upcoming workshop click here.

More resources and reading is bellow. Never stop learning.

http://www.leangreenhome.co.uk/category/compost-blog/
Great blog about how to turn your leaves into something rich for your garden
http://www.compost-info-guide.com/
Beginner’s guide to composting
http://www.composters.com/
Composting supplies
http://www.compostmanual.com/
A guide to composting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting
Wikipedia resource about composting
http://journeytoforever.org/compost.html
More about composting
http://www.howtocompost.org/
This web site is designed to be a hub for all composting information
http://www.howstuffworks.com/composting.htm/printable
How composting works
http://www.compostguide.com/
Composting guide
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/composting/index.htm
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
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If you prefer to read a book on composting, check out these ...

Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting
Basic Composting
Easy Composters You Can Build
The Rodale Book of Composting
Composting: An Easy Household Guide
Composting: A Practical Step by Step Guide

Posted in: composting, eco-friendly, home, Long Beach on Monday, March 7, 2011 at at 5:39 PM