Shortly after we moved here, the boys started an organism unit in science. Zach’s class had earthworms as one of their organisms and his teacher sent home a note asking for vegetable scraps to add to their compst for the earthworms. So, now that the weather is a bit better (*ahem* warmer…sort of) I’ve been thinking a bit about starting my own compost pile. There’s some good info on the web about it, but I’d like to know if any of you have started one of your own and if you have any pointers? Reading the list of things I can include, I’m almost giddy. Since I’m a daily coffee drinker, you can imagine that I have quite a few coffee ground-filled filters, which I can include. I see that paper towel rolls (the cardboard part) can also be included, and I would assume that’s true for tp rolls. Dryer lint and hair are also ingredients I have a lot of (I cut the boys’ hair myself, and there’s always quite a lot). The only problem I see is in the grass clippings. Because we live in a townhome, we don’t have to take care of the lawn, so I’m not sure how I might go about getting some grass clippings. To my knowlegde, the crew who does the lawn uses a bagger, so raking some up isn’t really possible. How much of that do I need and is there something I can substitute for it? Also, is a bucket an okay place to store the compost pile, at least in the beginning?
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3 Responses to “Compost pile Q&A”
If I can’t find grass clippings, I use weeds I’ve pulled out of the yard. Coffee grounds and filters are pretty much awesome for composting. They really help the soil. I also crunch down eggshells and add them. I found the easiest way to get the stuff from my kitchen to the garden is to keep it in a tightly-sealed container inside – I use a commercial size maxwell house container lined with a shopping bag. Usually, I take it out about 1-2 times weekly, depending. It also REALLY reduces any stinky smells in the usual trash.
Did vermiculture in my apartment for five years before moving to a house where I have a big ol’ pile in the back. It’s not important that’s grass, you just want to keep your green (lettuce, other veggie scraps) in proportion to your brown. Think 5:1 brown to green.
You might want to contact the Master Gardener program http://hortweb.cas.psu.edu/mg/- they often offer free workshops.
Something to say?
I am not sure a compost pile is a good idea at our current location. We really don’t have a place to do that also we would have to check with the office of our complex if that is even ok. We really don’t have a need for a pile. In my honest opinion. Just thought I would share my $.02
Left by Trisha's DH on June 18th, 2008