What Do I Put In My Compost

TS at Casa Mariposa recently wrote a post called Tums in the Tomatoes.  She discussed the many little tricks that we use in our gardens that might not be known to others and encouraged fellow bloggers to share our own homegrown tips.

At first I didn't really think I had any ideas to share.  There is no magic up my sleeve, no miracle concoction that saves my plants from disease.  But then I realized that perhaps the way I do things is particular to me.  For instance, many of us compost but what items you put in your compost might be different than what I would put in.  And how you use your finished compost might be different as well.

I use an old milk crate to sift my compost and remove any large chunks

One example I thought of has to do with soggy vegetables.  Really truly disgusting.  eww.  Some people boil their vegetables (ahem, mom) so there's barely anything left of the vegetable and all the goodness is left in the water.  Personally I steam everything but even steaming leaves behind water rich with the drippings of vegetable juices.  Rather than throw this water down the sink I let it cool and then add it to my kitchen bucket.  This small bucket is dumped once a week into my large compost bin.  A little water with the vegetable clippings helps rinse out the bucket and adds much needed moisture to my compost pile to help it break down.  This water has the added benefit of being rich in plant juice which my compost bacteria just love.

Another thing that happens to me is the trimming of house plants.  While I have managed to grow most anything I've put my mind to out of doors, inside is another story.  Deaths occur, leaves go brown.  Haircuts ensue.  When this happens I get out my pruners and drop all those dead trimmings into my compost bucket.

Even dried leaves are beneficial to your compost pile.

A big source of compost in our house is the wood boiler.  Ashes from previous fires are cooled in a metal garbage can and then added to the compost.  Wood ashes are great for combatting acidic soil due to their high lime content.  Our apple trees are suffering from pitting due to acidic soil and I intend to spread wood ashes around the orchard in spring to combat this condition.

Using firewood means there's a lot of mess in our house.  I'm constantly sweeping the basement floor and that material is also added to the compost bin.  Wood chips, dirt, moss and lichen are all organic matter that contributes to a thriving compost pile.

One thing I never put in my compost is meat.  But that doesn't mean it's wasted.  Trimmed fat gets fried up and chopped into small pieces for our feral cats.  It's a welcome treat for them when they need to pack on some winter fat.

If you have any tips you would like to share or if you would like to hear others tips, please join TS at Casa Mariposa.