Saved From the Landfill » Composting

Tumble…. Tumbling

crazyearthnut — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:37:30 +0000

I have wanted a tumbling compost bin for some time now. John had planned on building one for me awhile ago, but too many things have gotten in the way. So while he was at work, and all of my (4) sons where off to wherever 20 something’s go off to, I decided I was going build this thing…now!! After scouting the internet and getting a few ideas from different composters, I had a plan in this little mind of mine, and set off on my mission. Now, of course in my Just Jo fashion, I had to use stuff that was around the house, I’ll be gosh darned if I am going to go buy something when I have so many resources right here.

I gathered up my material:

An old garbage can
Some 2 by 4′s
A metal pipe
Clamps
Bungee cords
Screws

So…..I dug the holes….the ground of course is extremely wet because of all the freaking rain……I slipped on my BIG BUTT, fell into the mud and IN the hole. So after I picked myself up and brushed myself off, I dug the holes, buried in the 2×4′s, got out John’s power tools…(I have never used any power tools before) ..I used some big kind of saw, proceeded to saw the 2×4′s down, because of course they were too high…I know I should have done this before I buried them…but I never do anything the right way……anyway…I screwed on the clamps for the pole……..drilled holes in the can for drainage and also to put the pole through and

TA DA!!!!!

…we now have a tumbling compost bin!!!!!

I use the bungee cords to hold the top on when we turn it.

Who knows how long this will last, I know it’s primitive, but I did it by myself and am darn proud of it!

Everything Has A Purpose

crazyearthnut — Sun, 24 May 2009 11:40:44 +0000

This says it all for me!

If I should die before I wake
All my bone and sinew take
And put me in the compost pile
To decompose me for a while

Worms, water, sun will have their way
Returning me to common clay
All that I am will feed the trees
And little fishies in the seas

So when radishes and corn you munch
You may be having me for lunch
And then excrete me with a grin
Chuckling “There she goes again.”

– Lee Hayes, folksinger

Even the Worms are Spoiled

crazyearthnut — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 07:09:17 +0000

I must admit, up until a few months ago, I wasn’t composting for the winter. It bothered me so much every time the coffee grinds, eggshells, fruit scraps etc would go into the garbage, ultimately into the landfill. Then in my naive way I decided to look into composting indoors. Now, many might think, “where has she been?”, but for this ‘want to be country bumpkin,’ I had no clue. I consider myself an environmental NUT; I can’t throw anything away, I make things out of potential garbage, buy local almost all the time, won’t even enter the “W*#!art” store, and drive my family, friends and coworkers crazy!!

So I found VERMICOMPOSTING!!! Ah what a wonderful thing! As Wikipedia explains it: “Vermicompost is richer in many nutrients than compost produced by other composting methods. It is also rich in microbial life which helps break down nutrients already present in the soil into plant-available forms. Unlike other compost, worm castings also contain worm mucus which keeps nutrients from washing away with the first watering and holds moisture better than plain soil.”

Yeah!! The worms are here!!

Basically, you get some red worms; put them in a bin with some moist newspaper, (I purchased my worms online) and then put your kitchen waste inside. The worms and microbes break down the matter, and worm castings & worm tea (tea for your plants not you!) are the result. Both great organic fertilizers!

Tea anyone?

Of course you can buy worm bins, made especially for this purpose, but I don’t buy anything made for a specific purpose, if I can help it.

And so, today after making an apple pie for my family, looking at all the apple cores, and not wanting to overwork the worms, I have decided to put all the scraps into the food processor. Of course why stop with the apple cores, there are banana peels, eggshells, onion skins, grape stems and so much more. So now EVEN THE WORMS ARE SPOILED!! Having their food ground up for them, to make their life easier!

After all, it is for the good of all. The worms are producing tea and castings and when it is time to start the garden I will have plenty of fertilizer, and everyone in my life will have beautiful, delicious veggies!

Well, I guess I’ll go spoil myself and have a piece of warm apple pie, and a cup of………coffee.