Keep on keeping on: My composting experience
Hey there, Steemians!
I'm a wanna-be gardener with a tiny yard, and while I'm having some success growing things, I've never considered myself to be well-versed in the important skill of composting.
I turned an old wicker sofa into my makeshift composting pile after my 'dump it in a corner' method didn't work out and the other day I decided to work on it a bit.
Here's where I started: a haphazardly assembled pile of branches and leaves, I occasionally supplemented with kitchen scraps and yard debris.
It WAS producing a bit of dirt I'd try to dig out from the bottom when I could get to the hardware store and needed to pot something, but it was too full of roots and branches to be an easy source of 'black gold'.
My plan was to dig it all out and sort into 'dirt' and 'plant material' while moving the too tough things like branches and coconut husks out entirely.
I was pleasantly surprised to find I'd done a lot better than I'd expected! Look at all this dirt! True, it's full of tan-tan seeds and random debris but there's a whole lot more of it than I'd thought there would be.
Which brings me to my point. I didn't think I was doing much but simply by having a compost heap, what ever slow progress I made, added up over time. That seems to be a consistent life truth: persistent effort over time makes a difference. If you pick a direction and keep moving, even slowly, you'll see change.
Thanks for reading! I hope this encourages you to keep trying.
That's the great thing about making compost. You just make a pile and let it sit. I've seen a lot of fancy videos on making compost, piling it up, turning it, getting the correct levels of green and brown, Etc. but really it's just making a pile and letting it sit for a year.
Yeah! No way was I putting the correct ratios in. But it still turned out to be 'something'.
I highly suggest getting a 2.5 gallon bucket with a sealable lid from Home Depot or some place like that and keep it behind or beside your kitchen sink. That way any food item that you would throw in the trash you can now put in the bucket and then reseal the lid (for smell). We drink coffee at my house so we always have plenty of grounds to add to our bucket as well. Periodically dump that bucket in your compost pile and you will be on your way to having beautiful nutrient dense soil. I do all my gardening and have planted all of my Plumeria with rich soil from our compost pile. I love composting. It makes me feel like I am honoring my connection with nature more. That feels good. Happy composting @kareemah.
Thanks! @bloomview
I'm doing an even lower effort version of this and this is the perfect scale up!