Compost, my latest project

Growing up our neighbors, The Rockwells' composted.  It was a first for me.  But lots of things at the Rockwell's house were "firsts" for me.  Even though we lived right next door to each other, being in their house felt European to me...or what I would think Europe looked and smelled like.  I was 6, what did I know.  It was always intriguing to me.  

Mr and Mrs Rockwell wrote and illustrated children's books.  They worked in a studio behind their house, they were extremely creative, they listened to classical music and they wore Birkenstocks.  It was a whole new world for me.

Up on their kitchen counter, next to the sink was a metal bucket that they filled with scraps for the compost.  I remember seeing egg shells, coffee grounds, onion peels and other fragrant items piled high in their bucket.   And in their backyard, up in a corner, in an out of the way spot was a pile of compost.  The metal bucket got dumped every day or two.  

I have often thought about composting at my own house but my idea never went much further than an idea.  It required a bit of work and it seemed to fall to the bottom of my "get it done" list.

Last weekend it moved up to the top of my list and I went in search of a metal bucket with a secure lid to keep on my kitchen counter.  I headed to Home Goods since they have vessels for almost every household need.  The only bucket with a lid I could find that fit the bill was this dog food bucket.


And while it wasn't ideal, I figured I could fix this with a quick coat of Chalk Paint.  It seems like everyone and their brother is jumping on the Chalk Paint wagon.  Rust-Oleum even has a line now.  I had bought it a week ago with the intention of using it on my 3rd floor claw foot bathtub re-do. (more on that in a previous post)



I taped the edges so I could get a clean line with the paint.  

And gave it two coats.


The next day I began to use it.  I was surprised at how quickly it fills up.  I did some research online about what you can and CAN'T compost.  

I picked the absolute worst week to start this as it has rained everyday making it almost impossible to create my compost area and be able to dump my bucket.



I have hopes of using the rich compost on my edible garden.  This year I planted red leaf, green leaf and baby kale.  




Yesterday, when the clouds parted for a few minutes I ran out back to pick a spot for the compost pile.  My kitchen counter bucket was full, it was time.  

In my research it says to start directly on the dirt.  So I grabbed a rake and scrapped off a pile of wet leaves, dumped the bucket and then piled some wet leaves on top.  I also read that you don't want your compost to get sopping wet and that covering it with plastic or a tarp would prevent this and also create a hot house effect and that would help speed up the process.  We have lots of little and bigger animals roaming through out back yard to I placed two pieces of wood down to secure the plastic.


I chose an out of the way spot in the back corner of my yard since it can get a little smelly.  You can see my plastic in the background.




I will let you know how it goes. 

Comments

Popular Posts