I love all the composting instructions that seem to assume we all have a large quantity of "stuff" to compost all at once. "Pile it up together, in these proportions, keep it somewhat moist, turn regularly, and voila! perfect compost!" Except for autumn leaves, I expect most people are like me, I have food prep "stuff" to add almost every day. So I keep a large plastic coffee canister by the kitchen sink. Peels, cores, oops-that-lettuce-is-past-its-prime, tea bags, coffee grounds (WITH the filter), dead leaves from houseplants - you get the idea. When it's full (1-3 days) I carry it out to the compost "bin" which is a 30-gal plastic can that split slightly on the bottom. I usually layer in some grass clippings that have been drying in the sun for a couple days. I rinse the coffee canister and add that to the barrel. Now and then I turn the garbage can on its side and roll it around a few times, which is a technique I found in another ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË article, and works surprisingly well to "stir" the pile.
I'm about to shut down for the winter - the compost cooks great in the summer, but is pretty inactive in the winter here in TN (I would expect even worse results in a colder climate). Last year I turned the barrel top down into the garden and let it sit like that for the winter. In the spring I had a small pile to till into the garden. Lesson learned last year - grapefruit halves don't degrade! Previous years lead me to exclude banana peels, and really fresh grass clippings, both of which get slimy quickly and take forever to proceed. I also don't bother with eggshells as they stay intact - I'm sure they're a useful addition to the soil, but I don't want the bother of grinding them up.
When I restart in the spring, I'll start with at least 6" of small twigs and tree trimmings. They help aerate the pile to start with, and by the end of the process they disappear too.
I love all the composting instructions that seem to assume we all have a large quantity of "stuff" to compost all at once. "Pile it up together, in these proportions, keep it somewhat moist, turn regularly, and voila! perfect compost!" Except for autumn leaves, I expect most people are like me, I have food prep "stuff" to add almost every day. So I keep a large plastic coffee canister by the kitchen sink. Peels, cores, oops-that-lettuce-is-past-its-prime, tea bags, coffee grounds (WITH the filter), dead leaves from houseplants - you get the idea. When it's full (1-3 days) I carry it out to the compost "bin" which is a 30-gal plastic can that split slightly on the bottom. I usually layer in some grass clippings that have been drying in the sun for a couple days. I rinse the coffee canister and add that to the barrel. Now and then I turn the garbage can on its side and roll it around a few times, which is a technique I found in another ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË article, and works surprisingly well to "stir" the pile.
I'm about to shut down for the winter - the compost cooks great in the summer, but is pretty inactive in the winter here in TN (I would expect even worse results in a colder climate). Last year I turned the barrel top down into the garden and let it sit like that for the winter. In the spring I had a small pile to till into the garden. Lesson learned last year - grapefruit halves don't degrade! Previous years lead me to exclude banana peels, and really fresh grass clippings, both of which get slimy quickly and take forever to proceed. I also don't bother with eggshells as they stay intact - I'm sure they're a useful addition to the soil, but I don't want the bother of grinding them up.
When I restart in the spring, I'll start with at least 6" of small twigs and tree trimmings. They help aerate the pile to start with, and by the end of the process they disappear too.