Back to the Nitty Gritty!

Going back to my recycling post I mentioned getting used to what you throw away and becoming aware of different items that can be recycled. Still there is something else that can be done to reduce the amount of waste that gets thrown in the bin and can be a huge help to you. Composting! "Yuk!" I hear you say? No no, it really is easy so listen up. There are plenty of things that can be composted such as grass, newspaper, egg shells, all vegetable peelings, egg cartons (although I prefer to give mine back to the market for re-use) and citrus peelings (in moderation and these I find help to keep the flies away too). Lets face it I bet there's plenty in this short list that goes into the landfill isn't there? Why not compost it and then when the summer comes you wont need to buy the expensive compost.

"It's too smelly. It encourages rats and vermin. I cant be bothered..."

 ..are some of the usual reasons I hear for not composting. Really, none of these are true as I have found out.....                      

                                                                          

The composter I use is shared. Well as I mentioned before my garden is new and mostly lawn with a few wild flowers that need to be planted into the ground and I need to sort it out so, I share one with people that have a mature garden. If I ever want some compost I can have my share but I'm not adding to my normal bin so we all win. I do my share of looking after it though. The composter is a normal bought one that you see in garden centers or Lidl and Aldi from time to time like the picture above (right). I think it cost about €30 but you can easily make one from wooden pallets as above (left). I just chop up the waste into small pieces so that it breaks down faster and chuck it in at the top. 

pop peelings into the compost

Every week or two you should turn the mixture with a garden fork to aerate it and this will really help it to break down. It isn't compulsory but if you want compost sooner rather than later I'd recommend doing it. I remember the first time I went to do that job. I was not looking forward to it. I admit I was imagining terrible things running out from it! I whacked the bin a bit with the fork to scare any monsters living inside and opened the lid. It was perfect. Nothing in there that shouldn't be and best of all no smell. Phew, what a relief and I found turning the mix with the garden fork strangely therapeutic. There wasn't even a fly and although I knew we had all put in a lot of waste, it reduces in size and now, after nearly a year of filling the bin it still isn't full. All I do most of the time is wait and hopefully by next spring I'll open the door at the bottom of my (oops i mean "our") bin for some lovely compost.

OK so things can go a bit awry if your not careful and here are a few pointers to remember:

• Don't throw cooked food in as this will draw vermin. 
• Try to throw in as much cardboard and paper (brown waste) as peelings and grass (green waste) etc. If the mixture is soggy, it needs more brown and if too dry it needs green waste. You need to find a happy medium and wet mixtures will encourage flies but this is easily sorted as I just mentioned. (take a look at the PDF link at the bottom of this post)
• Citrus peelings are fine and will help keep flies away but don't add too much as it's not good for the compost.
• Get yourself a mini bin or large pot to put peelings etc into in the house so that you are not in and out to the compost heap every 5 minutes.
• Keep your compost out in the garden quite far from the house and try to have it in a warm sunny spot as the heat will help the breakdown process.
• Dont put in magazines of heavily printed paper, save that for the recycling centre.

I'll be your friend

If you live in an apartment or flat and want to compost well you can either share as I do or go for a "Wormery" which is a different method. However, rather than go into this other method now I'll chat about that again and give it a post of its own. I'm not the best when it comes to creepy crawlies but I am beginning to realise that they are so important to our compost and our garden. Worms should be praised from the hill tops I've learned, as they chomp through our garden waste improving the soil for our plants and if you see them in your compost then dance for joy. Yes actually dance because your doing things right. 

Anyway back to the subject at hand. Your recycling all of your recyclables and now putting all of those peelings etc in the compost. Whats left for your landfill bin? Not a heck of a lot really and whats more if you pay by weight, well, you should start saving a few pennies shouldn't you? Surely that's enough to make you think isn't it?

For the home composting "Mini Guide" PDF printed from the Limerick Co. Council Click here. It doesn't matter where you live, composting is composting ..well it might be a bit different in the Arctic or Antarctic...I couldn't say!?