From Garbage to Garden
Do you ever feel wasteful when you're tossing leftovers or unused food into the trash?
Why not put those scraps to good use and decrease trash pickups and landfill usage by starting a compost?
Landfills, by the way, are running out of room everywhere. The EPA estimates that roughly 25% of garbage in the U.S. is made up of yard trimmings and food scraps. That's over 60 million tons each year! You could impact this statistic positively by starting your own compost pile.
Compost is the ultimate symbol of nature's efficiency. It's the result of organic matter (greens, grass, food scraps, manures) decomposting with the aid of water, air, invertebrate organisms (earthworms, insects, etc.), and beneficial microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, microbes). Although the final product of this process resembles soil, it's actually a soil amendment or something that can be added to garden soil to help it retain moisture and nutrients.
There are a few tricks to successful composting and creating the right combinations of green and brown material. The greens (grass, food scraps, manures) impart nitrogen, while the browns (dry leaves, newspaper, hay) contribute carbon. To create the ideal conditions for decomposition, you'll want twice as much brown material as green. Here are a few guidelines to follow while facilitating this amazing, transformative process:
Why not put those scraps to good use and decrease trash pickups and landfill usage by starting a compost?
Landfills, by the way, are running out of room everywhere. The EPA estimates that roughly 25% of garbage in the U.S. is made up of yard trimmings and food scraps. That's over 60 million tons each year! You could impact this statistic positively by starting your own compost pile.
Compost is the ultimate symbol of nature's efficiency. It's the result of organic matter (greens, grass, food scraps, manures) decomposting with the aid of water, air, invertebrate organisms (earthworms, insects, etc.), and beneficial microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, microbes). Although the final product of this process resembles soil, it's actually a soil amendment or something that can be added to garden soil to help it retain moisture and nutrients.
There are a few tricks to successful composting and creating the right combinations of green and brown material. The greens (grass, food scraps, manures) impart nitrogen, while the browns (dry leaves, newspaper, hay) contribute carbon. To create the ideal conditions for decomposition, you'll want twice as much brown material as green. Here are a few guidelines to follow while facilitating this amazing, transformative process:
