Well, I’m doing it! Yes Siree, I’ve forgotten all about being the “hostess with the mostest” …now, I’ve become fixated on having the compost with the most toast! (Listen, if I ever start cooking specifically for my compost, just shoot me…)

Actually, not too much bread goes into my compost bin, just LOTS and LOTS of kitchen scraps. All day long I’m adding stuff to my kitchen compost pail…and, by the way, if you’re considering getting this, before you spend the money on any one in particular (whether an outdoor compost bin or an indoor kitchen scrap collector), you need to really think about how you cook (meaning HOW MUCH garbage you create on a daily basis!). This is important …and I learned this the hard way.

Geeze…I never realized how many kitchen scraps I can accumulate in one day, let alone an entire week!

Between my morning coffee grinds, egg shells, vegetable trimmings of all kinds and now, even all the old vegetables hiding in my refrigerator, things that I’ve deemed not worthy of my meals —well, NOW they’re deemed perfect for a higher purpose!! By the way, no animal products (or fats in general) should be added to a compost bin (it attracts all kinds of animals). That means no meat, bones, dairy or whole eggs and nothing that’s been cooked in or adored with fat (thus, no buttered bread…just stale bread.)

So, back to the bins…
I did lots of research on the Internet about all the different kinds of outdoor bins to use. I’m not going to go into all the different choices since I’m not versed enough to describe them well. So, I’m going to put links on the bottom of this page with all the information I have accumulated about composting. And, I’ll be updating it regularly (and dating the additions), so check back often to see what’s new.

I first made my choice for an outdoor compost, a big Compost Tumbler, by Achla Designs. It stands on metal legs and, as it’s filled, it needs to be turned several times every few days. So, I went to my local hardware store (Foley’s) and ordered it. (Days before my compost bin arrived, I started collecting my stash of scraps. )

For my indoor bin, I ordered a cute-looking covered container specifically for compost collection (indoors). Before it arrived, I (of course) had to put my organic garbage somewhere, so I put it in a tall, covered garbage pail that I had, one that wasn’t being used. During the day, while cooking, I would pile my scraps into a large bowl and then dump them into the pail and attach the lid. (Look at how much stuff I had after just a few hours of cooking!…)

An 8-quart bowl full of kitchen scraps...

After adding to the bowl, I lay a kitchen towel over the top and just keep cooking…

Then, at the end of the day, I add the contents of the bowl to my tall garbage pail (always lined with a bag).

And I close the lid (tight).

So, in a few days, the ”cute” scrap container finally arrived and, all I can say is, “what a waste of money!”  It was way too small for me.

Here’s what I got…

Are they kidding??

I filled this thing up in about 5 minutes (no joke).

Now…if you don’t cook that much and you like the look of the above pail (it really is nice looking for a scrap collector and it has a filter which (they say) eliminates odors, but a tight lid works just as well), you can go here to get one. (In addition to stainless, these also come in black or white ceramic.)

Anyway, by this time, my indoor bin was loaded to the brim and I really needed to get this stuff outside and into a true compost bin.

Finally…it arrived.

In a big box, all disassembled (oy vey).

Lucky for me...my gardener and carpenter were at the house!

I, of course, was VERY GOOD at providing refreshments!….

Ginger snap cookies make any day (or job) a bit nicer…

Here's the assembled compost tumbler.

Here it is, opened and full of grass clippings and kitchen scraps...

At this point, we needed to add lots of hay (anything brown and dry, like dried leaves, straw, mulch or saw dust). This is because kitchen scraps and grass clippings (greens) are high in nitrogen. If that’s all I used, not only would the ph be off but the mixutre would also become too dense (wet) to create a healthy compost …so the browned (dry) components, add carbon which help to balance the ph and also to help aerate the mixture as it decomposes properly.

I don’t know if this is considered cheating, but I’ve been told that sprinkling in a compost helper is a good idea, so things get started right…

Now, we just secured the top and gave it a good spin (remember, it’s a tumble-compost bin)…

The next week, my gardener asked me if it would be OK to add some worms to the compost bin. I said YES! (Clearly, this wasn’t the “girlie” side of me that jumped at this opportunity…). I learned that worms help to create an amazing compost and can actually increase the yield of a garden by 30 to 40%! This is because they eat the waste and then excrete a completely digested and organic compost. However…I’m aware that this will get VERY ugly. Apparently, as the worms eat, they quickly multiply so ….well, you get the idea.

So, now, all I do is add to the compost bin when I have a good stash in the kitchen. With each addition of scraps, I also add browns, to keep things in balance and if things get too dry, I add some water to encourage the  right kind of bacterial growth and then I just give it all a good spin. (As the bin becomes more and more full, spinning becomes more and more difficult….) I ordered a second compost bin since the first is now full.

I mean business! Same time next year, I plan to have an awesome vegetable garden…

Once full, you let it sit (spinning every few days and watering if things get too dry) and the heat of summer does it’s job and actually cooks the materials inside the compost bin. Then, when everything becomes “dirt” like  (when the solids have totally decomposed), it’s then considered “compost” and can be used in the garden. (I’m still a bit foggy on this part since I’m at the first stages of things. I’ll be keeping you abreast of how things look at each stage…).

Since I live in the northeast, apparently the compost will go to sleep once the climate gets cold …again, this part is new for me.

As I mentioned, there are some links for other forms of compost bins… so check them out, below, so you can make the choice that best suits you. There are also some video sites below, so you can get more of a visual grip (and advice) on the composting process.

Have fun!! And, please remember that I’m always open to learning from your words of wisdom.

Added September 21, 2009: http://www.geocities.com/green_cache/compost.html

http://www.compostbins.com/composting-tips.cfm

http://www.plantideas.com/compost/

http://www.geocities.com/zip80917/Compost.html

Video (E-How Expert Village)

http://www.ehow.com/video_4467177_when-compost-heap-ready.html

http://www.ehow.com/topic_1868_composting-beginners.html (page with lots of video links)

For a selection of compost bins:
http://www.compostbins.com/

http://www.theveggielady.com/

http://www.theveggielady.com/theveggieclub/herbs101_silver.php

Tags: backyard composting, composting, composting bins, composting containers, home composting, how to create a compost, how to store kitchen scraps when wanting to create a compost, kitchen compost bins, tumble compost bin, types of composting, what not to put into a compost, what's the best compost bin, worm composting

Comments (1)

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1. I am so excited that you started composting. I imagined that you’d have quite a heap of kitchen waste. It’s amazing how much stuff you can keep out of the garbage. It’s such an easy way to help the enviroment and end up with beautiful organic material for your veggies. This spring I had “volunteer” plants; Cherry tomato, beefsteak tomato, pumpkins, butternut squash and ornamental gourds that grew out of my garden after mulching with the compost!! I didn’t know about the bread! Have fun!

   Comment by Annie — September 2, 2009 @ 6:49 pm

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