| Composting is difficult. The wonderful truth is you | | | | In your kitchen keep some kind of container with a |
| couldn't stop stuff from decomposing if you tried. | | | | handle to collect compost. Some gallon ice cream tubs |
| A good compost bin or pile will decompose items | | | | come with a lid and handle and are great for this |
| quickly. A poor one will still decompose items, but | | | | purpose. A lid helps prevent fruit flies in summer. When |
| slowly. Consider your location carefully. You don't want | | | | anyone in your house chops vegetables, peels an |
| a compost to send smelly air downwind to your house | | | | orange, etc, put it in the compost bucket. Once a day |
| on a hot day, but you also don't want to have to walk | | | | carry the contents to your compost bin. |
| far from your kitchen to put things into it on a cold or | | | | Into the compost bin you can put vegetable and fruit |
| rainy day. If your compost is located to receive sun, | | | | parts, pasta water, spoiled food, sour milk or fuzzy |
| the contents will break down faster than if you put it in | | | | yogurt, coffee grounds, egg shells, citrus rinds and |
| a shady place. | | | | cantaloupe rinds surprisingly break down quite well. |
| A compost can be made with metal fencing or wood | | | | When you are cleaning up your yard you can put in |
| pallets, or you can purchase a commercial compost bin | | | | healthy leaves. |
| through a garden center. Improved features on a | | | | What you don't want in your compost: meat, bones, |
| compost bin might include a lid to prevent animal entry, | | | | kitty litter (even if you use clay litter, this would create |
| a black exterior to improve solar gain and speed up | | | | a health hazard), nut shells, those little sticky labels they |
| the compost process, vents also to speed up the | | | | put on fruits (watch out for them), look out for |
| process, and a trap door at the bottom so you can pull | | | | accidentally dumping in plastic wrappers (happens |
| out the rich, finished compost to spread around your | | | | more often than you might think), sticks, any parts of |
| garden beds. This last feature can be very nice as | | | | pine trees, green walnuts, diseased or unwanted plants |
| then you won't have to muck about from the top with | | | | from your yard. |
| a shovel to get to the useable stuff at the bottom. | | | | |