Monday, May 23, 2011

Compost Anyone?

Today I started an experiment. A tumbling composter.
It's a bucket with a tight fighting lid and a couple of holes. Into it will go all the fruit and veggie scraps, the coffee grounds and the tea bags we've been throwing out. I've felt guilty about contributing to the garbage that gets hauled off to rot somewhere else. Here in our region, there is a composting program, but the basic premise is that you bring trimmings and so forth and get finished compost in return. This assumes one has a vehicle. Which we don't.
So, in the interest of being self reliant, I am trying a tumbling system. I have heard brown to green ratios of anywhere from 1;1, 2:1 or even 3:1. I have also heard old-timers advise 1:1 and play it by smell after that. If it gets hot and doesn't smell, then things are going well.
I think the fact that it's in a bucket that can be moved, rolled and added to easily should work in it's favor.
I can't put a bin system here at the apartment, and I can't afford the over priced $150 for a larger barrel, so I've scaled back the basic premise.
We'll see how it works, and I'll keep you up to date!

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