Composting and Gardening

A BIG thanks to my friend Karen, who forwarded this article to me. I'm a slooooow composter, but learned some new ideas to make composting a bit easier. It's easiest for us to pick an area in the back yard to designate as the compost pile for that year. From fall to the next summer all the leaves, suitable kitchen waste, grass clippings and a few bags of steer manure go into that pile. It's rather large, probably 8'x 6', so to get everything spread evenly I have to walk over it occasionally (that's infusing oxygen accidently!) When the discarded carrots started sprouting

leafy green growth I quickly rescued them and replanted in a suitable place. Can't wait to see what other starters I may see arising!

Here's the link to the entire article, but I will only leave a very condensed version posted. I hate it when links stop working and I haven't saved any of my favorite parts. Take a minute to read the whole article if you don't know how to compost as this is just an outline below. Thanks Darla! I'll be looking up more of your past articles.

Going Green without Losing Your Mind: Better Stewardship of Your Own Backyard

By Darla Gaylor
Successful composting requires oxygen .

Successful composting also requires balance .

Don't forget the water if you want compost in good time.

For the fastest decomposition rate, bring on the heat .

Leaves and grass: two things that drive me absolutely nuts from a public waste standpoint. Why people spend hour upon hour every fall raking and bagging leaves and wasting the wonderful nutrient content of mulched grass clippings has been something that has long irked me. Why in the world would people waste so much of their time taking a fully clean and compostable product and wrap it in non-degradable plastic, then throw it in landfill space that could be used for “real waste”?
Soil, it's all about the soil, and dirt is not soil. Poor farming practices, soil contamination, and low quality “dirt” are all reasons to compost and add layers of it directly on top of your lawn; this practice is know as “top-dressing.” When we use chemical fertilizers, we do absolutely nothing to build the soil of our yards.

Vermicomposting is AWESOME!
Great. What is it? Vermicomposting is quite simply composting using special earth worms as your activator in place of or in addition to beneficial soil microbes. The output is a super charged fertilizer: worm poop! I catch every worm possible and gently toss them into my compost bin or garden beds. Worms rule!
I do not do what I do, nor do I urge you monthly to develop better, more environmentally sensitive habits because I'm trying to “save the planet”. What happens to the Earth as a by product of my actions is fantastic, but my main motivation is stewardship and diminishing wastefulness.

Certainly, if we took the advice we have been given since the early days of the church: 1) be self-sufficient, 2) be prepared for whatever may come, 3) grow our gardens, and 4) save our money, staying well clear of debt, not running so hard after the things of the earth, I have little doubt the things of the Earth would be better off, and so would we. But unless they make recycled 12 packs of double roll toilet paper, me and my house will be doing it with softer, cheaper 2-ply, thank you very much!