By Kirsten Lovan

September 11, 2011

Composting is something everyone can do, no matter your living space; there is a way to compost! All you have to do is type composting into your preferred search engine and you can immediately find 20 ways to compost everything from kitchen scraps and yard waste to cardboard and you can do it on any scale.  Composting is an age old tradition used by farmers and home gardeners as a way to improve the soil’s structure, texture and fertility and increase its ability to retain water, all while decreasing their impact on overflowing landfills. Public awareness is increasing about what we, as individuals, need to do to conserve existing landfill space while reducing what we put in it. It is amazing to think that 1/3 of our landfills are taken up by organic waste, including kitchen scraps and yard clippings, and some larger cities are no longer collecting yard waste. All of that black gold is just sitting there, wasting away, literally. More and more people are re-discovering and turning more towards the traditional ways of life to reduce and re-use their scraps. Composting takes minimal planning and start up costs vary from little to none.

If you think that you have to grow food to compost, think again. You can use this in place of commercial fertilizers in any type of garden, flower or food.

Finding the right composting container is something of a personal preference. There are mountains of tools and containers and charts available online and locally to help you determine which method of composting is for you.

Check out Progressive Gardens on Oleander Drive for friendly advice about how to get started.

Tips about composting:

Layering and finding the balance between the green and brown matter help keeps the compost going and keep any strong smells from developing. Keeping the compost with the correct amount of moisture is important.

Don’t throw away kitchen scraps; add them to the compost pile. Egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable scraps and grass clippings are all considered green matter.

Pine straw, fallen leaves, wood chips and even brown paper and cardboard (minimal inks and dyes please) are all considered brown matter.

Keeping the compost aerated. Turning the compost insures that enough oxygen is getting in and effectively breaking down the matter evenly.

What are you waiting for? Waste no more!