Composting for an Idiot (i.e., Me.)

Sunny Saturday came equipped with a drill - something I've made a point that my son and my daughters know how to operate.

 

Ella was hesitant at first, but as you can see, once she got going, no one was taking that drill from her.

 

Just like the video from a week ago, Ella drills ventilation holes in the sides, about 3-5 inches from the top. We had a much larger bin, so we opted for 5 inches.

Everyone had a go at it, even Big Daddy (as we'll call my husband. He kind of likes "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".)

That's sort of where we are on all of these activities - everyone participates because

a) everyone benefits from the results

and

b) likely everyone will need to do this in the future.

The sun shines through the finished product!

Our bouillabaisse of shredded junk mail gave us a great start to our composting heap. (Yeah, Lillian Vernon, I'm looking at you.)

We opted for 4 tubs of worms from the Wal-Mart bait and tackle section. In our town, they carry the same red wigglers you can buy online. At this one, it was about $3.56 for a tub of 30 worms. That gave us about 120 worms - not nearly enough.

As the pictures show, our tub is much bigger than the one featured in an early posting. So, we went back and got another 10 tubs. Now, we have about 420 worms and their soon-to-be offspring munching away on  all kinds of yummy things, including:

• Dryer lint
• Coffee grounds
• Coffee filters (torn up)
• Tea bags
• Flour
• Powdered sugar (I've been told you have to be careful with sugar because it can throw everything out of balance. We still have it in the original container and store it near the compost, sprinkling a little on each time we add new material.)
• Damp and dry leaves
• Vegetable cuttings

I've been surprised by the vast lists of things we can add to it!

ALSO, our town has decided to allow for picked up recycling. For a $20 deposit, they leave a large container and pick it up once a week. It makes getting rid of cardboard boxes easier.

The finished product!

The whole process is super easy. The longest part was arguing over who would get to use the drill next.

Next up: Riddle Me This... What Does Come First - The Chicken, The Goats, or The Dog?

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