I think it is so fun to turn scraps from all of our produce into awesomeness that can be put back into the earth and better yet, our gardens. It adds so many nutrients to our soil, enriching it so much! Now, you don’t have to be an expert. I still am NOT. Aaron actually started this process. We don’t have anything fancy at all. It started with a pile at the end of our yard next to the woods. Aaron told me to start saving anything from the fruit and veggies I was using and it escalated from there. We now have 3 different compartments made from pallets, which is a little bit of a better system, but we are still learning.
The different things you want to put in your compost.
These are the main things to use: egg shells, clippings from plants, peels from oranges and potatoes and carrots, and all of the trimmings from produce, coffee grinds, tea bags, and paper toil/toilet paper cardboard rolls. You can add other things, but you don’t want to put many cooked food scraps in because it will attract raccoons and other animals.
The Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio
It is most important to have a good carbon/nitrogen ratio. ⅔ carbon and ⅓ nitrogen. The carbon is what adds more oxygen into the soil to break the enzymes down faster. The rule of thumb is, if it is green and fresh, it adds nitrogen. If it is brown or black, it adds carbon. Too much nitrogen can make the soil too wet and too dense to work with resulting in a longer breakdown process.
Mix It Up
Mix your compost pile with a pitchfork every 2-3 weeks to help the process. We have one side for smooth, rich dirt that has already been broken down. And one side where we add all of the scraps. Again, I don’t recommend adding table scraps as you will have more critters in it, and it will smell bad.
Chicken Scratch
And another pro-tip, get chickens! They love to pick around on all of the scraps and then they poop on the pile and it’s a win win for the soil!
A little help from Lomi
I am super excited to gain assistance from an actual compost machine called the Lomi! I just got mine. It is basically taking your scraps and it makes the plant food for you! It eats what you don’t eat, so there is literally NO waste. We do not have a garbage disposal and throwing this stuff in the trash gets so disgusting and stinks the house up. SO this is such a smart way to gain compost but in a much faster way than piling it up outside. This is your fertilizer, and it reduces your waste by 80%. I will link it here for you guys to check out! www.lomi.com I am not affiliated with this company, but they sure do have an amazing product.
