What happens when you pile bucket upon bucket of kitchen scraps into an open bin, add grass clippings and yard waste, and let the sun beat down and the rain pour in all summer? This is what you get:
Rich, black gorgeous compost! Here’s a close up of the dirt we (actually my ever-willing husband) dug out:
We figured that this pile of compost represents roughly six months of “work,” which breaks down to approximately:
- 1,000 hours of sunshine
- 38.64 inches of rain
- a whole lot of earthworms (naturally occurring)
- lots of other beneficial bugs and microbes
- 120 buckets of kitchen scraps which could include:
- over 100 eggshells
- likely 100 tea bags (no string, tag or staple)
- scrapings from about 100 carrots
- scrapings from about 100 potatoes
- at least 75 onion skins
- probably 75 banana peels
- most likely 75 lemon, lime, and/or orange peels
- corn husks from at least 60 ears of corn (but no cobs)
- core/stem ends of about 30 heads of lettuce
- skin from at least 25 avocados (not pits)
- grounds from at least 25 pots of espresso
- peels from about 25 cucumbers
- tough stems from about 20 bunches of kale
- rinds from at least 12 whole watermelons
- rings from at least 12 cantaloupes/honeydews
- countless odds and ends from berries, tomatoes, hot & sweet peppers, broccoli stems, brussels sprouts, celery, garlic, and more
- a variety of past-its-prime fruit, veggies, and/or herbs from my Toss-It Tuesday fridge clean-up
- Plus:
- 100 lawnmower bags of grass clippings (not all used)
- assorted hedge & veggie garden trimmings
- at least 1,000 spent rose petals & leaves
- lots of spent spring annuals (pansies)
Phew! Life is complicated enough without worrying about strict combinations of “greens” and “browns” or carbon/nitrogen ratios. Like life, compost is a balancing act. You provide the raw materials, Mother Nature provides the sun and rain, and by the end of the season, you’ve got compost to … start all over again. If we can find time to do, you can too.
Tags: compost, compost bin, composting, dirt, fertilizer, food scraps, food waste, Fruit and Vegetable, garden, gardening, grass clippings, green, green waste, home, home and garden, how to compost, Husk, kitchen scraps, Mother Nature, organic, recycling, Tea bag, vegetables, watermelon, worms
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I’ve been away exploring beaches and climbing mountains in the Pacific Northwest while back in the ATL, fruit has been rotting in my fridge. Guess my house sitter opted for frozen pizzas and bagels instead of the good stuff…
What you can see (clockwise left to right):
- onion skins
- rotting peaches
- a smattering of dried & fresh flower petals from my daughter’s fairy house construction (center)
- Watermelon (cut up for more efficient composting)
- black banana peel
- a wrinkled peach
- a rotting apricot
- teabag (minus string & tag)
Toss-It Tuesday Vacation
What you can’t see:
- half of a moldy cantaloupe
- more watermelon
- paper from two garlic cloves
What I made with that:
In a nod to my coastal adventure, I made a quick Linguine with White Clam Sauce using onion, garlic, canned clams, butter, olive oil and white wine.
Tags: Banana, cantaloupe, clean out fridge, compost, composting, Cook, Fruit and Vegetable, home, kitchen scraps, Melon, Pacific Northwest, recycling, watermelon
The good news: it feels like summer at last with lots of fresh fruits & veggies filling the fridge. The bad news: it’s raining, so instead of all that gorgeous produce, my body’s craving comfort food like … soup. I love how random ingredients easily transform into just what we want, like Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder. Hooray for soup.
Sorry this is blurry. It was really rainy. Things you can see (clockwise from top):
Top Bucket: Corn husks & slimy, old watermelon (Note to self: we don’t eat giant quantities of watermelon. Stop buying whole melons!)
Bottom Bucket:
- Red pepper core & slice
- A random leaf
- Barely visible onion skins
- Carrot scrapings
- Half of a fingerling potato nestled in the scrapings
- Watermelon rind (towards the middle)
- Lots of black papaya seeds and papaya skin
- Two pieces extremely yucky looking partially frozen banana
- Banana peel
What you can’t see in the bottom bucket:
- More papaya peel. Or is it skin? Or rind? Whatever it is there is lots of it underneath.
What I made with all of that:
- Papaya & lime for breakfast
- Watermelon to go with grilled cheese sandwiches
- Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder which used everything in the bucket but the fruit …
Tags: Chowder, compost, composting, Cook, Corn, dirt, fertilizer, Fruit and Vegetable, home, kitchen, kitchen scraps, Papaya, Smoothie, Soups and Stews, vegetables, watermelon
I hate waste! And here we have an entire bowl of what used to be the sweetest, juiciest watermelon we’ve had yet this spring. Someone, quite probably me, nudged off the saran wrap jostling things in the fridge and this bowl spent a day and night uncovered. Now, it’s slimy, with that nasty skin that develops when it’s been out too long. Sadly, the only option for this melon is the trash. Or, better still, compost. At least my guilt is assuaged a tiny bit by the fact that all that fruity goodness will go into my compost pile, and eventually back in to my garden. Phew.
Tags: compost, composting, fertilizer, food waste, home and garden, kitchen scraps, watermelon
my daily compost 