Hey, Green Thumbs!
Or, in today’s case, maybe more of a brown thumb…every successful garden starts with rich, black, healthy dirt. Today is a salute to making your own soil! Today is Learn About Composting Day! Did you know that you can make your own soil? All you have to do is keep all your organic trash! It’s normal to lots and lots of people to throw their egg shells, fingernails, coffee grounds, orange peels, vegetable scraps, and so on out with the rest of their garbage on ‘pick-up’ day.
But if you throw these natural items away into a different space together—a compost pile—and let time work away at the properties of all those things, it will eventually transform into rich, dark soil. It’s trash, so it’s sure to get stinky; you’ll want to keep your pile far enough away from your house, or in a sealed container in your basement or garage.
So what’s included in compostable items? A LOT! More than I have time to mention here on the Blog. Just anything that is organic. Organic items simply refers to products (food and otherwise) without any added chemicals or artificial agents. Of course vegetable scraps and yard trimmings are natural. Candy wrappers and batteries are not.
You may be surprised at all the different things you can compost, however. Like I stated before, the list is extensive! Things like newspaper, cardboard, paper towel, brown paper bags, etc.
Also, everyone can compost! In order to do a lot, you probably want a designated spot in your yard. But if you don’t have a yard, you may still be able to work something out where you keep your compost inside a enclosed plastic bin that you keep in a garage or basement or an apartment solarium perhaps…. Make your own soil from compost just for the fun of doing it! And you can use it for windowsill and other houseplants that you have around. They’ll love the quality soil!
This means of recycling is interesting and makes you feel good about reducing and reusing. It’s incredibly easy. And, everyone can compost! Try out composting for yourself and Happy Learn About Composting Day. As always, thanks for reading!
- John