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Composting is something every good eco-conscious woman knows she should do, but somehow finds a reason not to. It’s gross, you say. I live in a city, you sigh. The time for excuses is over. Thanks to Planet Green, there’s the City Girl’s Guide to Composting – but don’t worry, it works for non-urban types, too.
First you need to decide what kind of composting you want to do. Worm composting is good if you’re short on space (and don’t mind worms, obviously); hot composting is good if you’re a real go-getter and are willing to put a little more work into composting while reaping a more satisfying reward; and cold composting is good if you’d like a low-maintenance approach. You just dump the scraps into a bucket and let them sit.
Let’s assume you want to try the low-key version: How will you avoid the disgusting rotten garbage smell from your kitchen scraps? Keep your compost bin in your freezer. The cold will kill the odor and any bugs while jump-starting the biodegrading process. Once your scrap box is full, you’ll need an actual compost container for outdoors. There are some really nice, expensive models out there, but you can always DIY – out of chicken wire and wood.
Now we’ve come to the tricky part: Actually composting. Planet Green offers some great tips for first-timers. Don’t try to compost meat, dairy, citrus, or oily salad dressing, unless you splurged on a sophisticated compost tumbler. If you want to speed up the disintegration process (and who doesn’t), chop up your scraps before composting them. Also, don’t forget to feed your compost pile sun and water, just like any other gardening project.
Speaking of, how’s your spring garden turning out? Are your plants surviving whatever weird weather your part of the country is experiencing right now? Oprah (or her minions, rather) put together a great article on how to know what types of plants to buy, based on your locale’s “hardiness.” Just enter your zip code and find out what types of flora will survive and thrive in your backyard.
Let us know how your composting experiment works out. Or, if you’ve got any tips for newbies, post them in the comments section, below.
via Planet Green and Oprah.com
