Do You Compost?

Are you planning a garden this summer or have you already gotten one started? We planted a veggie garden Easter weekend and are anxiously awaiting a crisp summer salad! Gardening is a fun way to spend time together as a family engaged in a long term project. Kids love to get dirty, and learn so much from tending a garden and watching their hard work come to fruition. Whether you plan a big plot full of a variety of produce, or a small container herb garden, working on it together with your kids will bring you both great joy.

My reputation for having a black thumb precedes me (my husband will certainly attest to this- two things always end up black in my care, plants and bread). But I am determined this year to taste the fruits of my labor!

We started planning a few months ago and began composting all of our biodegradable waste. I bought a tall bin with a lid that has holes in it and placed it out back near our kitchen door for easy access. I lined it with a trash bag to keep the juices from oozing all over. I throw in whatever is compostable as I cook or clean up the kitchen. A better idea would probably be to put a wooden crate out back or even just heap the stuff in a pile in the corner of the yard (forgoing the plastic bag), but most days I'm too busy to pee, let alone run back and forth across the yard with our trash. So, I did what would work for us (yes, sometimes I'm more brown than green, but I'm trying). Anyway, we mixed in all this muck when we tilled the garden and we're expecting sweet rewards (coffee grounds are supposed to be fab for growing tasty tomatoes).

Here's a pick of our newly planted garden, I saw our first sprouts today!


If you'd like to learn more about composting, check out these sites:
Ecocycle
Compostguide
Mastercomposter
How to Compost