Easy Ways to Compost at Home

When most people think of compost, they think of a huge heap of rotting food, dirt, flies and an accompanying horrible smell, which is why they won’t even think of composting in their homes or apartments.

Well, that is not totally true. Yes, compost is made of rotting food and dirt, but if it’s maintained properly, the flies and dirt can be kept under control, and the end result will be a resource that can help to feed and strengthen your plants and home garden.

And, by using your food scraps, you’ll also be diverting them from the landfill. One of the misconceptions about food in landfills is that it will properly decompose. However, as this waste breaks down, it winds up producing harmful CO2 and methane gases.

According to the New York City Compost Project, “The average New York City household discards two pounds of organic waste each day—adding up to more than one million tons of organic material a year.” So why toss away these things that you already have on hand that can help your home garden to thrive?

There are two ways that you can start to compost at home. One is aerobic composting, which is the kind of composting that most people think of when composting is mentioned. It’s pretty much the pile of food scraps and dirt. The reason that it’s called aerobic is because it needs oxygen to help break it down, so it must be turned so that air can circulate throughout it.

Indoor worm composting is another method. This one people tend to get squeamish about. Red wigglers are the most common worms used for this process. At a high level, the worms help to aerate the soil, breakdown the food, and their castings are great for your plants.

Here is more information on the different methods, so you can start yours at home today.

Aerobic Composting:

Find a Location For Your Compost
You can put your compost bin next to your regular garbage can, under your sink or in the corner of your kitchen. Where you put it is up to you. Location will determine the size of your compost bin.

What to Compost
Compost is made up of two parts—browns and greens. The easiest way to think of it is that browns are the dry items and greens are the wet ones. You’ll want a balance of the two. If anything, you’ll want more browns than greens.

Here is a simple, but not comprehensive list of things you can compost and likely have available:

Browns
· Fall leaves
· Shredded black and white newspaper
· Shredded cardboard packaging
· Old soil
· Stale spices

Greens
· Leftover fruit and vegetable scraps such as kale stems, celery leaves and bottoms, apple cores, banana peels
· Coffee grinds
· Tea bags minus the string and staples

The Compost Bin:Your options here are to buy one that suits your needs or to make one yourself. To make a compost bin with a 10-gallon metal garbage can, you’ll need the following:

Tools
· Drill with 1/4? bit

Materials
· 10 gallon metal garbage can
· Black and white newspaper
· Rubber mat
· Organic potting mix
· Composted organic manure
· Something to prop the can about 1-2″ off the ground to let air circulate. I used old furniture legs.
· Food scraps

Instruction
· Drill holes in the bottom of the garbage can. This allows for aeration and helps the compost do its thing.
· Shred the newspapers.
· Set up mat and rest garbage can on the furniture legs.
· Put in first layer of newspapers and some of the potting mix.
· Added a layer of the food scraps.
· Sprinkle some of the composted manure.
· Cover with layer of newspaper and potting mix.
· Food layer, then another layer of newspaper and soil.
· Close up and done.

One or two times a week, you’ll have to turn the compost pile to get the air circulating and speed up the decomposition. It will take about 2-3 months for the pile to decompose and become usable compost. While you are waiting, just set it off to the side.

Advice
When you throw full pieces of food into your compost pile, it takes longer to break down and decompose. By putting your scraps in the food processor or blender first, you will help to speed up the decomposition process. Only do this with items that are soft and easily blended down.

When starting your compost bin, it’s easy to add too many food scraps. This is something that you definitely want to avoid. If you add too many greens, the compost will become too wet and produce a horrific odor. You need to maintain a balance of the browns and greens. As a general rule of thumb, you don’t want any one thing in your compost to comprise more than 10% of the total.

Composting With Worms
Composting with worms is something that I was hesitant to start in my apartment for reasons that I’m sure some of you share as well. Eventually I broke down and started to experiment with them.

Much like with the aerobic composting bins, you can either buy or make your own worm composting bin. I haven’t had much success with making my own worm composting bin, so I’ve been using a store-bought Worm Factory 360. It’s been working out much better for me and the worms are thriving. The bin is tucked away in the corner of the kitchen and people don’t even notice it.

By worm composting you can get rid of more food scraps, because a pound of worms can go through three times their weight or more in a week. They also produce compost much faster than the aerobic method.

Regardless of the method you choose, it can be scaled up or down to suit your home and comfort levels. Both methods will help keep food from ending up in a landfill and help your garden to thrive. Now that you’re equipped with the basics of composting at home, when are you going to get started.

Seven Tips to Help Your Garden Flourish

Even someone who claims to have a brown-thumb when it comes to gardening can achieve green and gorgeous results with these easy gardening tips. Whether it’s digging up dirt in your own backyard or container growing on a sunny windowsill, these simple strategies will help your garden grow.

Gardening Tip #1: Reuse those packing peanuts. Container gardening is popular for folks with limited backyard space, but the large pots can be heavy to move when filled with soil and plants. Lighten the load by filling the bottom 1/3 of the pot with Styrofoam packing peanuts. It’s a great way to reuse the packing peanuts, while keeping the pots lightweight. Added bonus: The packing peanuts help prevent root rot and mildew growth.

Gardening Tip #2: Another use for the Sunday paper.
To prepare an area of the yard for your first garden, don’t spend hours tearing up turf. Reach for a newspaper instead. Place thick layers of newspaper over the section of grass you want eradicated. Place heavy rocks on top and walk away. In a few days, the grass will die off due to lack of sunshine and will make prepping the ground much easier for tilling and gardening. Bonus tip: Pour boiling water onto weeds and grass to speed up the process.

Gardening Tip #3: Plant a smelly sneaker.
Deer and other wild animals may find your vegetable and flower garden to be irresistible. Instead of erecting cumbersome fencing or using smelly sprays, try leaving a very used gym sneaker in the garden instead. The strong scent of humans is a natural way to scare off wild animals.

Gardening Tip #4: Use organic insecticides and herbicides. Using chemical sprays to control insect and invasive weed growth in the garden is passé. Try a natural product that uses a blend of sweet-smelling essential oils to target insects and weeds but is safe to use around children and pets.

Gardening Tip #5: Recycle cans. Instead of pitching used soup cans in the garbage, use the can opener to cut off the top and bottom of the can. Little seedlings can be protected in the garden by the metal sleeve. When the plant has grown large enough, remove the metal sleeve and recycle as you normally would in your curbside bins.

Gardening Tip #6: Use paint stirrers as garden markers. An easy and free way to know what’s growing in your backyard is to recycle free wooden paint stirrers into garden markers. Just write the plant’s name on the top of the stirrer with a permanent marker and insert into the ground.

Gardening Tip #7: Repurpose compost. Use eco-friendly tools like a mulching lawnmower to reduce waste. Repurpose grass clippings and compost to naturally feed the soil in your yard. Mulching (covering the soil with organic or inorganic compost) is a great way to help conserve water and prevent soil diseases from contaminating plants.

By following these gardening tips, you should be well on your way to a bountiful harvest!

Urban Gardening for the Everyday Person

Mike Lieberman

It seems like a lifetime ago now, but last this past spring and summer were my first seasons of urban vegetable gardening. I didn’t have a huge, lush, perfectly tended garden to work with. What I did have was a fire escape—and my own determination!

See, I live in New York City. Around here, the concrete outweighs the green. I had to get creative with the limited space outdoor space in my apartment, so I decided to turn my fire escape into my own little garden.

Just Start Growing

The biggest hurdle for me—as it must be for any home gardener—was getting started. What if I fail? Do I know what I’m doing? I can’t possibly do this. Luckily, I was able to forget all that self-deprecating nonsense. What did people do hundreds of years ago? They didn’t get fancy certificates declaring that they could garden. They just got it done, and I was going to do the same.

What To Grow In

I did a bit of research on what I could grow in and built my own versions of a self-watering container. They were perfect: inexpensive to make (less than $5), and composed of recycled materials.

If these seem like too much trouble, you could make a hanging planter using recycled soda bottles. These work well for herbs and lettuces.

What Kind of Potting Soil To Use

The next task was to decide on a potting soil that I was going to use. The one thing that I knew is that I wanted to use organic methods and no chemicals and pesticides. I started to do some research as to what I should use. Some said a coconut coir based soil, and some said a peat moss based soil. I figured that I’d experiment with both to see which one works better. So I bought some coconut coir based soil from my local ecology center. I also made my own potting soil from peat moss, vermiculite, limestone and compost that I made in my kitchen.

I haven’t yet done a complete analysis, but I haven’t noticed much of a difference in how things have been growing in the different soils. So, urban gardeners, I’d suggest using whichever is easier for you. Once you decide, you’ll face the next question:

Where To Buy Your Plants

My personal preference on this is to go local. Go to your farmers market or nursery and talk to the gardeners. I bought my plants from Silver Heights Farm at the Union Square Farmers Market. I was able to build a decent relationship with the gardener. She proved to be very helpful and personable in answering any questions that I had. This included:

What Should I Grow?

This is the million dollar question. If you are growing in an urban environment, it’s likely that you don’t have much space and want to get the most out of your veggie garden. What works for one won’t necessarily work for another, but I do have some personal veggie anecdotes to share.

· The vegetable that I had the most success with were lettuces and greens. I was able to harvest my lettuce and create my first salad about a mere month after planting them! It’s strange to say, but the feeling of being able to trace my food from fire escape to plate was overwhelming—in a very wonderful way—at first.

· Personal opinion? I’d stay away from red peppers. Nothing against them, but for me they don’t have a high enough yield. I’ve been able to harvest some, but the space could be better utilized. If you have a lot of space, then plant peppers like crazy.

· Cauliflower is another plant that I didn’t have much success with. I have thoughts on why it didn’t grow, but the fact that it didn’t turned me off. I’d rather stick with plants that are going to yield a high crop.

· Another lesson that I learned is that “cherry tomato” means a small tomatoes: not a small plant! When I started off, I bought a cherry tomato plant and thought it would work nicely on my fire escape. Now, a few months later, the plant is taller than me!

Maintaining Your Gardens

One of the virtues of self watering containers is that they are easy to maintain. I didn’t have to water them on a daily basis, and it’s easy to tell when they are filled. There’s also no need to pull weeds; compared to traditional gardening, the maintenance is much simpler.

Now that December, and soon winter, is upon us, the fire escape garden needs a bit more attention. There are definitely some plants and herbs that won’t make it through the cold season (such as basil, which died once the first sign of cold weather came). A heartier plant like kale is thriving in the cold weather so far.

Since I am working on a fire escape, I obviously can’t have a full blown greenhouse. I had to build mini greenhouses for the hanging soda bottle planters and small plastic greenhouses for the containers. They require a bit more attention, but help to prolong the life of the plants.

Those of us who live in urban landscapes tend to assume that gardening is a luxury for people outside of the city, or for friends with fancy country homes. But I hope that this post proves to you that this isn’t so. I’m doing all of my vegetable harvesting on my tiny fire escape in Manhattan, and with no prior experience. It’s been both fun and terribly rewarding.

So now it’s time for you to stop reading, and start growing! I wish you luck.

Mike Lieberman resides in NYC. He provides simple solutions for living in a complex world. He shows others how they can do the same on his own blogs and writes for others around the web. You can find them at CanarsieBK.com.

How to Prepare Your Garden for Winter

Shawna Lee Coronado

Home gardening: it’s the best way to ensure that you and your family members are receiving the freshest, truly organic, locally grown vegetables. By growing our own foods, we teach children and family members how to connect with nature and live with less chemical exposure.

Take it from a lady who lives in Chicagoland, though: few parts of the gardening cycle are more important than closing one’s garden for the winter. Preparing your garden for next season by closing it up properly will ensure a more attractive community, healthier, well-protected plants, and a less laborious start to your spring garden.

Here are a few tips to help you close up your garden:

Fall is a fantastic time to divide perennials. Utilizing an easy technique such as cutting the plant in half while it is still in the ground will help you wrap up this chore quickly (see video). Be sure to replace any holes with fresh soil, compost, or rotted manure.

Plan your spring bulb garden now as bulbs need to be planted before the first heavy frost in the fall in order to appear next spring. Prepare your soil by working compost or other organic material into your soil. Avoid putting rotted manure on bulb beds, as it significantly heats up the beds and sometimes rots the bulbs. Plant bulbs according to directions, being sure to use organic fertilizer during the planting.

Tender bulbs such as caladium, gladiolus, canna, and dahlia should be lifted before the first frost in cold climates (as soon as the foliage has browned). Store them in a cool, dry place for the winter which maintains a temperature near 60 degrees. In mild climates, leave the bulbs in the ground, but mulch thickly.

Mulch well before the ground freezes hard for any exposed areas of garden. You’ll save water and money by practicing water conservation techniques; by mulching properly, you will have to water less in the spring. If you mulch after the hard freeze, you can sometimes warm up the soil, exposing the existing plants to harsh temperatures. It’s better to mulch before it frosts, so the plants have time to acclimate to the new protection.

Drain garden hoses and rain water barrels, reattaching all gutter connections to drain winter moisture away from the home’s foundation. Storing the rain barrel upside down will prevent additional water from leaking into the barrel, which might cause cracking during harsh freezes.

Empty container gardens and rinse all pots in a vinegar and water solution, scrubbing crustiness with steel wool. If the crust refuses to come off, soak the pot in a bleach solution that is one part bleach to nine parts water for an hour, then rinse again. This will kill fungus and allow you to reuse the pots next year. Air dry the pots, then store them in a dry space. Move all houseplants indoors when outdoor temperatures become lower than fifty degrees for nighttime lows.

Stop deadheading and collect seed from dried flower heads left in the garden. A favorite way to collect the seed is to wait until a flower begins to dry on the stem in the flower bed, put a paper bag over the top of the stem. Cut the stem just below the paper bag, tie with string or rubber-band, and hang upside down in a cool dry place for winter. In the spring, the seeds will all be at the bottom of the bag awaiting planting.

Most perennials can be left standing with no protection beyond additional mulching. In fact, cutting down perennial plants and taking away the garden brush will leave your plants open for more potential winter damage. It is far more conservation-oriented to leave the perennials standing “as is” until next season. The brush provides protection and the plants will drop additional seeds encouraging more plants to grow in early spring – surprise – baby plants will arrive and can be dug up to be given to your friends in the community. Cover special plants, such as roses, which cannot tolerate cold winter winds.

While perennial gardens should generally be left alone, vegetable gardens need a heavy cleaning and are perfect material for the compost bin. Although the composting process slows down in the winter, it is important to continue composting.

In fact, fall is a fantastic time to add leaves and garden brush to your compost bin as well as vegetable garden rubbish. To assist the process, chop and shred the materials to make them smaller before adding to the pile; you can do this with a mulching lawnmower. Many gardeners also plant a “green” cover crop at this time to help return important nutrients back to the soil without the use of chemicals.

Providing your family with a sustainable garden can be the start to a healthier, more thoughtful way of life. Living a green lifestyle begins with fresh air, nature, and plenty of family time. Gardening with attentiveness to water savings, conservation, and non-chemical use can help the overall health of your family and perhaps inspire your community to emulate good habits.

Make a difference this fall, and close-up your garden in a positive way!

Shawna Lee Coronado is an author, newspaper columnist, health, and greening expert focused on teaching and living a green lifestyle. Visit Shawna’s prime website for more information on her books and other media – www.thecasualgardener.com. Be sure to visit her health and greening blog – www.gardeningnude.com for lots more conservation, greening and health tips.

Crazy About Composting

I am crazy about composting. Each time I toss veggie scraps into the little ceramic compost crock on my kitchen counter, I am thrilled that every little morsel is going to good use.

We need good topsoil – the planet is desperately in need of it, which is why in countries like Sweden, composting is mandatory. It’s amazing to realize that topsoil is the earth’s skin and we are entirely dependent on it for our food supply. Over the past fifty years, much of the healthy soil that we used to have, due to intensive/conventional farming, has been rendered devoid of all the nutrients it needs to give us beautiful and healthy food. This is why so many of us now have to take a plethora of supplements. The crazy amount of veggies that you virtuously devour, are likely devoid of many of the minerals and vitamins that their ancestors possessed.

The best way that we can create the highest quality topsoil imaginable is to compost. All those scraps decompose into odorless brown gold. If you have a garden, you’ll be able to grow veggies bursting with goodness, and if you don’t have a yard, you’ll find someone who’ll take your compost in a jiffy.

So which compost bin is the best? I get asked this question weekly and I have honestly tried almost every model on the market. There are pro’s and con’s with all of them, however the Ecomposter is my current favorite and hard to beat for all it’s incredible attributes. It’s a bizarre looking globe on legs, which looks like something from outer space (in a cool way.) First and foremost nothing can get into it – so no more nasty furry surprises for those of us who have a few pesky friends running around our neighborhoods. Little finger like tubes direct oxygen right into the deepest recesses of the actual compost, which considerably speeds up the process. You’ll get good, rich compost in just 4-6 weeks. When you’re ready to get the compost out, you just roll the big green ball to the area of your yard where you want the compost, unscrew the lid and empty it out. It’s made of recycled plastic and is just fun to spin around every time you walk past it.

My husband and our stray cat Zoom were extremely cynical at first. My husband had had his fill of strange bins, “digesters” and worm towers appearing weekly in our yard, and Zoom was very partial to my old big black bin because of the hole in the back that had become the backdoor for a extended family of rats. After a few weeks, my husband was delighted with the new “space ship”, as nothing can get into it. Zoom, however, has abandoned his perch above the old bin. He has to content himself with chasing the sassy squirrels.

Now that I’m juicing daily (totally inspired by Kris,) I can empty the dregs, along with the paper filter, straight into the compost bin and know that this time next year, all that shredded carrot and beat mush, will be fertilizing my heirloom tomatoes – heaven!

Happy Composting,

Sophie Uliano