Starting Somewhere: Gearing up for Gardening
February 27, 2009 by Suzanne
As the weather starts to show signs of spring (or at least we hope it does soon!) I’m turning my homesteading thoughts to the garden. You know… that we don’t have, have never had, and have no idea how to have, but that’s for another day. Right now, let’s talk trash.
Composting! Here we come!
In the fall, I started my first compost bin. Overwhelmed by even what kind of bucket to use, I went to my closet, dumped some clothes out of a container and set about my starting. Then we went out into the front yard and started collecting dirt and leaves. I then started setting a plate on my counter and put all of our coffee grounds, egg shells, tea bags, and fruit and veggie peelings on it. Each day, or whenever I deemed it too gross to be in my kitchen, one of my children would step out on the back deck and dump the plate into the bin.
We have dumped some dirt into it and stirred it, but that’s been very rarely. It’s not been very stinky, though it has been winter time. I do hear that it doesn’t get really stinky like regular trash.
I do have to say, I wonder if it will be garden ready at the beginning of gardening this year. It appears to not be breaking down at the rate that I had thought it would go. But I will stay the course, and hope that something productive comes of it.
In the meantime, this has been an easy (read: lazy) way to feel like we’re changing our ways. It is so low maintenance. Seems like I can’t really get it wrong. And it’s one more step that by next year will be such a part of our lives that we won’t have to think about it and may contribute positively to our lives. At least I started, made one more change in our consuming ways, and stuck with it. Big steps in my book!
For y’all who have thought about doing this, but have not started because you were intimidated by the unknown (and you know you’re out there, I couldn’t have been the only one!!) start here. Let’s talk trash together and learn alongside each other. If I can do this, I promise you can.
And for those that are old pros: What I need from you is advice. I didn’t research this. I know nothing about what I’m doing except dumping our old produce in a bin and stirring dirt into it. Is this right? Should I be adding something else or not putting something in? How long will this take to be actually useful in a garden? Please leave a comment with your own composting blog post, someone else’s website that has great information, or just a comment telling me what I can do differently. And let’s do this thing!
Suzanne is wife to one and mama to four. The little ones are 2 boys ages 7 and 5, a girl who’s 3, and a baby boy who’s not knee-high to a grasshopper yet. She eclecticly unschools with lapbooks the Charlotte Mason way. In other words, she doesn’t have the slightest clue what she’s doing, but does it anyway. She lives in a world where there are few absolutes. The dishes don’t stay cleaned, the laundry doesn’t stay put away, the children don’t remember what she told them yesterday. But in their chaotic lives they have found joy. And they’d love to share that with you. So, come on over, kick a path through the toys, have a seat on the couch and grab a cup of strong coffee. Just be ready to hone your skills of “interrupted conversation”! And be sure to stop by her personal blog at JoyfulChaos.
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DanaArmstrong on Fri, 27th Feb 2009 7:39 am
Suzanne, I am another one like you. I have no idea where to start so I’m glad you wrote this article! This gives me a great starting place. Starting today, I am putting out a plate on my counter and telling everyone to dump their scraps on it. LOL! I can’t wait to see the reactions.
DanaArmstrong’s last blog post..Review: Escape by Carolyn Jessop
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Marsha on Fri, 27th Feb 2009 8:17 am
I am so starting this TODAY! And let’s just ignore the fact that I’ve been meaning to do this for the past 2 YEARS.
You are an encourager, Suzanne!
Marsha’s last blog post..6 months and the goodness of pumpkin pie pineapples
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Beth on Fri, 27th Feb 2009 9:00 am
You’re supposed to put equal amounts green waste(kitchen scraps, lawn trimmings, etc.)and brown waste (dried leaves, dead plants, etc.) and then a little dirt to get things started. I have not really followed this. I just dump everything in pile and forget about it. And guess what? I actually have dirt now! I just dug into it this week and it’s lovely, lovely dirt that is ready for this year’s garden. (Except for a few fossilized pomegranites that just did NOT decompose!) I did stop adding to that pile and started a second one a few months back so it could actually get all decomposed. I
encourage you to do it! It is such a satisfying process. If nothing else you’ll have some great science lessons watching stuff get really gross!
Beth
Beth’s last blog post..Teaching character with Dr. Seuss
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Summer on Fri, 27th Feb 2009 9:02 am
We went to Sam’s last night and bought a compost bin for our backyard! I must say that I was discouraged when I read in my gardening book that it can take 2 months to one year before it’s garden ready… But if you can stay your course, I will too! I was ready to return that bin back to Sam’s and say forget it, but you have inspired me to go for it – so I’m going for it!!!
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Sallie on Fri, 27th Feb 2009 11:17 am
I checked out a book from the library a month or so ago about this very thing. It said to add worms to the compost because the worms will digest the food and make a richer soil quicker. That is what I’m trying. I’ll let you know how it goes
Sallie’s last blog post..Vanity of Vanities
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Donna on Fri, 27th Feb 2009 12:04 pm
I would love to talk trash..I’ve read, my friends compost ( well a couple) with the fancy compost bins. I want ( and need to because of budget) make my own. Is it best to start in the Fall because of the time frame.
I did lazy composting….a green friend told me, let your Fall pumpkin rot, smash it up into little pieces and plant it deep into the spoil. We are already getting cute, green sprots. That’s the working at home, home school, way too busy version of composting!
Donna’s last blog post..Blessed Nest~ At Amazon.com
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Misty (elvisgirl) on Fri, 27th Feb 2009 3:12 pm
I have sort of composted for a year or two, but off and on. I kept a bucket under my sink to put the compost in. Indoors, with a lid, does eventually get stinky! I have done a lot of research on composting, but sadly, haven’t used it all yet. What I’ve read is that you should put holes in the bottom of your “homemade” container which allows for faster decomposition. If you use worms, you don’t want to dump them out with the compost…the trick is to lay out a tarp on your drive with half in the sun and half in the shade, the worms will go to the shade…then you can scoop them back up into your compost bin to keep working for you.
This is our first year with Daddy involved in the gardening, so it should be interesting. Maybe I can get him to drill some holes in a container for our compost bin!
Thanks for reminding me of a project needing completion!
Misty (elvisgirl)’s last blog post..Life Lessons
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Rebecca on Fri, 27th Feb 2009 5:03 pm
With compost you have to remember to have mostly ‘browns’ in the pile. Browns are organic matters that are mostly carbs (leaves, paper, hay, sawdust, etc.) Then you put in your greens (nitrogen rich foods like spinach or grass clippings). You put a 3-4″ layer of the browns then throw in your green stuff, and cover with more brown. Then you keep the pile moist, and turn every week or so.
My compost over the winter didn’t do much for a while. Its my fault, I didn’t turn it like I should, and we didn’t have any rain or snow for almost 2 months so it got really dry. But I have been more diligent so I should have some good compost before the last frost.
Oh, and keeping the stuff covered with ‘browns’ will keep the pile from stinking. Also, since you have a bucket you can just shake the thing when you add stuff. That will keep the greens mixed with the browns.
Rebecca’s last blog post..Sprouts!
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Tammy ~@~ on Sun, 1st Mar 2009 6:14 pm
Suzanne, you wanna come and spend the summer with me? I’d be blessed to teach you about composting and gardening
Of course, I don’t really know the REAL way to do any of it, but was blessed to grow up with a mom and grandma who were avid gardeners.
As far as what I do for composting nowadays is that I have a small fenced in area at the end of my garden. It’s easy for me to access and really “turn” as I mix it together every once in a while. If it’s been dry, add a little water. Keep a good mix of dead outdoor stuff like leaves and fresh vegetable scraps and tossing some dirt in won’t hurt either. You can use almost any kind of container to compost in, but you want something that is animal proof – trust me, skunks will find it! – and that has air holes poked into so you have good circulation. I’ve never had to add worms as the worms have always come, but that’s been since the compost has been located by the garden.
Composting takes on a whole different angle in the winter here since we’ve had snow since November. I just toss everything over the garden fence all winter long. It’ll start breaking down during the long thaw and then my hubby will rototill it in when he gets the garden ready in the spring. It makes it rather interesting when I’m planting….
Please, feel free to email me if you ever have any questions and need a tip or two!
Blessings,
Tammy ~@~
Garden Glimpses
Tammy ~@~’s last blog post..a ray of sunshine
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Debbie on Mon, 2nd Mar 2009 7:07 pm
Having composted most of my married life, (homesteader at heart) I want to warn you of the side effects of long term composting:
-Sudden attacks on kitchen assistants that try to throw away egg shells or potato peels
-Severe guilt pangs when you are too lazy to save your kitchen scraps and decide to …yes, you can…throw them away.
-Looks of disgust from guests that casually ask, “What’s in the ice cream bucket?” as they peek inside and find aromatic, rotten garbage inside (that you forgot to take out for 3 days…)
-Waves of nausea when anyone catches you using the blender to grind up your kitchen scraps (so it composts faster!) and come in the kitchen thinking it’s a yummy treat….
-Secret mowing attempts (by non-composting enthusiast male family members) at strange hours because they don’t want to use the grass catcher! (grass clippings are sacred)
-Avoidance by neighbors because they don’t understand why we always ask for their bags of leaves. (some years we didn’t have any deciduous trees…)
On a serious note, I have never had an ‘official’ compost bin, although I have coveted one of those barrels that you turn with a handle! A pile is easier to turn and that seems to be the key to speedy compost for us. I had a very organic friend that would bury each new ‘delivery’ in a different spot in her garden-along with keeping layers of grass, leaves and straw as mulch, and that was it!
It’s so rewarding when you see the results…and it’s good stewardship of God’s resources! I’m so glad you’re blogging about it!
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Nikowa on Wed, 4th Mar 2009 3:50 pm
SO glad to see that we’re not the only one dumping egg shells & coffee grinds into a bucket!
Nikowa’s last blog post..Exhaustion
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Heather on Tue, 19th May 2009 1:54 pm
I, too, am a first-time composter. I started with a bucket in the house, but it has since moved to the outside. After reading this, I will attempt to get some holes in it, but I don’t know if I can lift the thing now. I had a question… I know it’s supposed to be kept moist, but mine has puddle-like areas and does actually smell bad. What did I do wrong and is it fixable? We have recently added some extra mulch and grass clippings on top – I was hoping that would help. Thanks!
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