Composting
The Low Hanging Fruit
By Greg Holman

The "Green" Craze
Okay, so there is this "green" craze out there, but I am a bit more pessimistic. Sure, I want to save the earth, but environmentalism has had some bad press over the years. People today are extremely busy and going green often seems like it would interfere with everything that has to get done. Well, let me tell you that there are some changes you can make, with little to no investment in money or time, that can make a difference - and cents! The easiest thing you can do at home is to start composting. This is the "low hanging fruit" of being green. This takes very little time, and ultimately can end up saving you money. How will it save you money? You can eventually downsize your garbage container, and then stop driving to the store every spring to buy organic soil for your plants. Interested? Read on.

Compost can take place in as simple as a pile, to as complex as an indoor compost machine. Your pile will depend on many factors, including your living situation and the space available. Convert one of your now obsolete trash cans into "compost bins." If you do not think that you can dump it daily, get something with a lid. (Again, reuse a coffee can, or work your way up to a ceramic container with an odor filter.)

According to an excerpt from Let it Rot!: A Gardener’s Guide to Composting, this is the number one rule for composting: The realization that no matter what you do, no matter how many little mistakes you make, you are still probably going to come up with reasonably good, usable compost.

Truth Be Told
This is so very true. Your container can be a fancy commercial container, a primitive chicken wire cylinder with two metal posts, or as simple as a compost pile. Begin by adding the "greens" (lawn clippings, and other green scraps) and the "browns" (coffee grounds and dead leaves) in equal parts - six to 8 inch layers of each. Try to keep the pile as moist as a rung-out sponge. If all goes well, the pile will heat up and decompose over the course of a few months. All you need to do is turn it and check moisture levels weekly.

Now truth be told, I never turn my pile, and seldom water it (unless it is raining). It comes down to a few things: space and effort. We happen to have some space for a compost pile, and I have little time for any effort above adding to the pile. Sure, it takes a few more months to make compost, but I am in no hurry.

I strongly suggest purchasing a copy of Let it Rot!(ISBN-10:1580170234). This will give numerous examples of bins, lists of acceptable and not-acceptable ingredients, and the scientific explanation for anyone interested.

The only hurdle is to make it part of your daily routine. You have no space for a compost pile? Talk with neighbors and make a common compost pile out of an unused corner. You will be surprised how much you can divert from your waste stream! You might even need to move to a smaller, cheaper trash container. Sure, you are saving the world, but more importantly, money! (Or do I have that backwards?) For now, reach up and grab that low hanging fruit!