Composting

I've been inspired by a woman who told me, "Our aim is to have no garbage leave our property." While this may conjure images of Shel Silverstein's "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout," what the gardener was really trying to convey is that she recycles just about everything! I've been composting half-heartedly for two years. What I have is two years worth of table scraps in a garbage bin -- smelly and sloppy. So, I have been reading up. I went out and bought three rectangular rubber maid barrels. I poked air holes in each. (Something I neglected to do in my original bin.) The bins are small enough so that I can easily turn the compost and large enough to fit in a few months of scraps. This time, I also plan to add newspaper and any other garbage that can take it. I added compost starter. As the material decomposes in the first barrel, I will move it to the second and the third barrel will be for nearly finished product. This time I will treat it as a learning process, observing the results each day and changing the technique as necessary. My daughter is fascinated. She even held her nose to help throw scraps in today - a process in which she never before took an interest. I assured her that if we can learn to do this properly it will not smell and that our plants will be a whole lot happier.



Cindy stands in front of her beautiful clerodenrum and her inspiring composting center