Our recycling from home journey has begun.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 06-01-2009, 10:05 AM

We got our new recycling bins on Friday!

I just about did a jig in the driveway.

The collection starts around June 30th, but the bin is already almost full! I'm still trying to sucker DH into letting me have a composter, but he's not sure how well it'll go since our garden is pretty small. I told him it'll be good for next year because then I can ditch even more of the horrible dirt and put in some healthy composted dirt to help the veggies and flowers.

**MommyBliss** · 06-01-2009, 04:22 PM

That's great news!

**Momto2Boyz** · 06-02-2009, 08:45 AM

Isn't it funny how the littlest things can excite us!

I'm trying to get DH to let me get a compost bin too. I have a small one, but I'd like to add a decent sized one! He keeps making the comment that I can simply get compost from the city for free each spring!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 06-02-2009, 10:22 AM

The little things never did used to excite me, either. Nowadays, anything to make my life easier without having to leave my yard is pretty good for me.

I told DH I could just make a composter out of an old Rubbermaid container now that he has a drill. He gave me that 'don't touch my new tools' look!

**geckoace** · 06-02-2009, 11:34 AM

im wearing dh down on the compost, pretty soon he will stop looking at me like im crazy, i think if i promise a garden full of tomatoes next year that will get him

**MomToTwoBoys** · 06-02-2009, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by geckoace

im wearing dh down on the compost, pretty soon he will stop looking at me like im crazy, i think if i promise a garden full of tomatoes next year that will get him

I wish I could offer that to my DH but he'd probably divorce me. He hates raw tomatoes.

Ahh well, maybe if I promise him a garden full of nachos he'd look at my idea of a composter in a whole new way.

**geckoace** · 06-02-2009, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

I wish I could offer that to my DH but he'd probably divorce me. He hates raw tomatoes.

Ahh well, maybe if I promise him a garden full of nachos he'd look at my idea of a composter in a whole new way.

if i promised dh a garden of nachos he would give me anything i wanted LOL can you promise to make salsa lots and lots of salsa

**miss_thrifty** · 06-02-2009, 01:50 PM

good for u dear. congrats on yoiur new recyling bin. I knwo at forst it felt so good and excitinf to know Im doing more from my planet. My parenst my of gripes alot but everybody got use to it.lol

**MomToTwoBoys** · 06-02-2009, 04:31 PM

Yeah the salsa thing is something that DH is really looking forward to.

**dean** · 06-02-2009, 06:36 PM

DH started the composting at our house, now we fight over the beautiful composted dirt we have created. He wants it for the garden, I want it for my flowers. We do compromise however, and share.

**wwe11** · 06-03-2009, 09:36 AM

I was just wondering, how do you start out composting. Do you add potting soil and scraps or what kind of dirt. I am very interested in starting this.

**Incognito** · 06-03-2009, 11:33 AM

I compost the easy way. I dig it under the soil, wet the soil and leave it there to compost, stirring the surface of the soil only to weed with my hoe-bar-blade. I use grass clippings, leaves, my veggie and fruit scraps (not meat, onions or apple cores, they attract maggots and fruit flies

).

I save egg shells, keep them in a pail in the basement to dry out, then step on them and crush them fine, then add them to the soil mix when planting tomatoes (to give them calcium and help prevent blossom-end rot).

The soil here is sandy and it took me about 3 years to get it to grow things well, because it had no nutrients till I composted. Some people compost in bins, because it heats up the compost and they turn it over to hurry the process.

I just let the earthworms and nature take its course. Sometimes, I scoop a little circle around each of my garden plants, and place the peelings there, cover them up and forget about them. It brings the earthworms to the site, and they till the underground soil, and add their rich castings. As long as the roots of the plants aren't disturbed, it only adds to the nutrients of the soil around the plant, though it takes longer to decompose and break down. There is no smell this way, and almost no work. Out of sight, out of mind.

**frugalfranny** · 06-05-2009, 07:58 PM

Congrats MTTB!

Aren't new toys fun?

Even if you have a 'small area' for a compost pile, that would work. I don't have a composter....just a pile. I turn it with a pitchfork when I get around to it or if it seems like it is slowing down in decomposing. Pull dirt from the bottom and toss any monster earth worms back into the dirt.

I like Incog.'s idea with the egg shells......think I will give that a try. I have been tossing my egg shells onto the pile too......the birds eat most of them. If I could keep the crows out of the pile I would have more food scraps.........hate those birds! They are dirty and gross!!

Hey...WWE11...the 'basic rule' for composting is toss in 'anything that didn't have a mother'..(except I do egg shells).....reading about and being careful with some tree types/limbs/etc. as they have 'bad substances' in them that will harm the pile. Found this paragraph on-line that might help......if you garden you will love it. Give it a try......

To make traditional compost, alternate different types of shredded plant materials in 6- to 8-inch layers. Layering helps compost reach the correct nitrogen balance. Use equal parts by volume of dry and green plant materials in the overall mix. Use caution when you add layers of fine green plant wastes such as grass clippings. Grass mats easily and prevents water from moving through the mass. Use 2-inch layers of fine materials or process them through a machine shredder. Alternate fine materials with woody plant prunings to prevent clogging the machine and to create an equal balance of dry and green materials.

Traditional composting includes soil as one of the layers. While soil can serve as a source of microbes to "inoculate" plant wastes, research has found that the microorganisms that break down plants also are present on the surface of the leaves and stems. It's natural for some soil to cling to pulled weeds and uprooted vegetable and flower plants. When you add large amounts of soil, you increase the weight, which makes composting difficult and less efficient. Large amounts of soil also can suffocate microorganisms. Soilless composting is often practiced.

Add water to the compost after every few layers of material. If the plant materials are dry and no green material is available, add a small quantity of blood meal or a commercial nitrogen fertilizer free of weed killers. One-half cup of ammonium sulfate per bushel of material is sufficient.

Hope this helps get you started........