Hello composting buddies, this is OrganicNik here – AKA Nicole Krause – just wanting to tell you about the California Resource Recovery Association 2007 Conference and Tradeshow I attended July 30th and 31st in San Pedro.
There is a lot of information out there about composting and a lot of it states that you shouldn’t use products like meats or eggshells in your compost because they would attract all sorts of unwanted animal attention and might turn your compost pile into a snacking ground for the area animals. There have been those complaining about bears being drawn to compost bins and other smaller animals as well. However, eggshells can also be a good source of nutrients for your garden, and can also have other uses, so composting them can prove to be quite beneficial if you follow a few golden rules.
The first thing you should know is that eggshells can host salmonella on their surface, and as such, if you don’t want to spread that around to your garden, it’s best to wash the eggshells before composting them. There are those who also like to put the eggshells in a tray in the oven for 20 minutes or so to make sure to kill all the bacteria, and this might not be a bad idea since the procedure would not destroy the Calcium in the shell, which is what the plants will most require out of the eggshells in the first place.
Another thing you could do is to grind the shells into very small pieces. This helps in more than one way. For one thing, the smaller the eggshell bits, the quicker the break down process (and in the case of eggshells, this process will take quite a while so you want to do whatever you can to hasten it). For another, scattering the small pieces of eggshell around plants will keep slugs and other pests away from them.
Spreading the ground up eggshells onto the ground or in the areas where you feed birds or chicken can also be useful, as the birds can take back a lot of much needed nutrients from the shells. If you are going to feed them to chicken, it’s advisable to put the shells into the oven for a few minutes, as feeding the chicken raw shells might encourage them to also pick at the freshly laid eggs that are yet to be collected.
While composting eggshells can be beneficial for your plants and birds and is therefore not discouraged, it would be good to avoid composting other egg parts, as it would not only be a surefire way to attract animals to your compost pile but it would also ensure that your compost would give away a smell that you would not be thrilled to have around. All in all, if you take some precautions, there is no reason why you shouldn’t compost your eggshells.
Most ecologically aware persons have learned about the benefits of compost and are having fun turning some of the organic residue of their household into nutrient for their plants. However, there are some limitations to what you can compost and many are, with good reason, careful about what they add to their compost pile. However, you might be avoiding some of the things that would work very well as compost, so here are a few of the things you had no idea you could compost.
If you have pets, you might do your compost bin a favor and feed it some of the waste your pets leave behind, such as fur, claw clippings and pet food. Be careful about composting your pets’ fecal matter though, as it’s not advisable to compost feline feces because of their high content in toxins and germs, and dog feces require special measures when composting.
Leather goods can also make for good compost bin material. If you have old leather clothing, shoes, wallets or bags that you are sure can’t be used anymore, you can try composting them. Because of the processing, it’s likely that leather will take some time to break down fully, but it really won’t take as long as you might think looking at it.
Unbelievable as it may sound, the dust in your vacuum bin can make for a great compost ingredient. If you think about it, the composition of dust mostly particles of dead skin, lint, and various other small pieces of organic materials, aside from a few non organic ones, for good measure. You can either get paper bags for your vacuum cleaner, which you can compost as well, or buy a vacuum cleaner which uses a bin instead of bags and just empty the bin into the compost pile.
Speaking of paper bags, paper can make for a great compost ingredient. You can use all sorts of paper in your composter, except, of course, paper that has been laminated or the kind of gift wrapping that usually comes with a thin plastic layer on top. Aside from that, you can go crazy and compost anything from cardboard boxes to old newspapers and other kinds of paper that end up building up around the house.
You can also compost cotton balls, strange as it may seem. Cotton is organic, and as such, cotton balls should have no problem breaking down in your compost pile. Just make sure to check the packaging on the cotton balls you buy, because if they are made from synthetic fibers, composting them would be useless.
As you can see, there are plenty of things you can compost that you might not have thought were up to the task. All that’s left now is for you to have fun composting.
When one part of the world is flourishing with industries and sky scraping buildings, the other part is being mounted by heaps and heaps of waste. The waste being disposed includes both organic and inorganic substances. While the inorganic, toxin wastes need to attended to and disposed carefully, organic waste materials can be put to great use. Recycling the organic wastes through the process of worm composting puts back into the soil the much needed nutrients. Through the process of vermiculture, we can take part in the nature’s cycle and do our bit in keeping our planet earth clean.
Worm composting is an uncomplicated method of creating natural fertilizers by the use of earthworms. Worm compost is derived by facilitating the worms to feed on wastes such as cow-dung, household scraps. The excreta of the worm, which is rich in humus, is the key component which restores the nutrition value of the soil. Vermiculture involves the culturing of worms in a worm bin to produce worm compost.
Worms eat almost everything we, humans eat and don’t eat. Worm food mainly includes vegetable scraps, fruit scraps and peels, Bread and grains, Teabags, Non-greasy leftovers, Coffee grounds and filters, Crushed egg shells, Napkins and paper towels. There are certain food items that are harmful for the worms. Over feeding of citrus items, meat and fish, Greasy foods, Dairy products, Twigs and branches, cat litter and dog feces are dangerous to the health of the worms. Other organic material such shredded newspaper and corrugated cardboard or paperboard can also be used. Shredded black and white newspaper should be kept over the food at all times. This bedding provided by the newspaper and cardboard helps keep the worm bin dark and moist and prevents direct sunlight from contacting the worms. This also keeps the flies away from worm bin.
Having one’s own backyard food factory is a sheer joy in itself. Due to the non-availability of space and time, modern homes rarely engage themselves in vegetable cultivation. The entire task of tilling, weeding and planting can be back breaking. Raised bed gardening is the answer to this problem. Raised garden beds can be classified into raised flower beds and raised bed vegetable gardens.
Raised garden beds make the process of gardening simple and pain-free. It eliminates the ordeal of digging and weeding. The raised garden kit is lifted from the ground level. Growing vegetables on these raised garden beds have many benefits. Raised garden bed kit prevents soil erosion, facilitates growth of the vegetables and prevents the growth of unwanted weeds. Its saves time, energy and water. It makes one’s garden look organized and creates a beautiful and a colorful garden. These beds are easily to handle and maintain. Growing vegetables on raised garden beds makes it easier for the gardeners to tend to it as the beds are raised from the ground level. Since it is one open bed, there is more room for the roots to penetrate and spread, thus allowing them to breathe better as compared to flower pots. A good number of vegetables can be grown in one bed at the same time. Raised garden bed kits are designed to retain water for a longer period as it has sufficient soil mass. There are engineered to provide the best drainage facilities along with soil aeration. These beds are most useful during spring as the soil in the beds warm up more quickly than the ones on the ground.
Raised vegetable beds are available in different materials and sizes. They come in forms such as composite timber raised beds, natural cedar raised beds, Vinyl raised beds, cedar rectangular raised beds, Elevated container gardens, Recycled Plastic raised garden beds, Ready-to-Grow complete raised bed gardens, etc. These models are available as ready to use or can be assembled. Raised beds can be built on are own as well. While growing one’s garden or backyard farm have several benefits such as providing one’s family with healthy and organic vegetables and reduction in the family expenses. It is also an environment friendly action as it reduces the impact of transporting and warehousing. It also contributes towards tackling air pollution. All these amazing benefits can be made possible even with limited space, by using raised bed vegetable gardening method.
The benefits of using compost in your beds instead of just soil include less waste, less weeds, healthier plants with less diseases, and less harmful chemicals that damage your plants in the long run. Each benefit will improve the quality and life of your plants, and in turn make your gardening experience more enjoyable.
Rain barrel is a very easy way to extend the benefits of a rainfall. A lot of water that is consumed goes for watering gardens and lawns. This potable water can be saved if one could use an alternate source for watering the gardens. A rain barrel is usually made from 50-gallon food drums. And an average rainfall of one fourth of an inch is sufficient to fill the 50- gallon drum using the roof and the gutter system.
If one is living in the country, main rain barrels can be installed at various places to collect rainwater and in a city, water collected from the roof can be used to water the plants and the lawn as well as reduce water bills. Apart from the monetary benefits, you will also be helping maintain the municipal water grid and hence help the environment. When you harvest the rain water you are not just saving water you are also reducing the amount of chemicals that run into the water bodies. When rainwater runs on the ground, it collects harmful chemicals like agricultural pesticides, herbicides, petro- chemicals like oil and gasoline, pollution, etc. This water then runs in the gutters and joins the rivers and lakes hence polluting them. When we harvest the rain water, we reduce the quantity of running water to some extent hence protecting the environment and erosion.
The rain water that gets into the water treatment plant is treated with chlorine and other chemicals before it is sent back to us. Therefore by using the rain barrel, we consume pure water, free of chemicals and we also reduce the work done on the water hence conserving energy. Healthy vegetables can be grown with this water. So your savings will not just be because of the reduced water bill.
Plastic, food grade rain barrels are the ones you should choose. The barrels that were used to hold chemicals or wax should be avoided as the chemicals found in the residue may harm the plants and the environment.
Some simple tips can be followed to make the best of the rain barrel.
An estimate was done and it was reported that 1 inch of rain on a 1000 sq. ft. roof would yield 623 gallons of water. Imagine the amount of water you could collect over a rainy season.
Here’s something entirely new and unique in our supply of compost bins: the Dual Purpose Compost Bench! If having a regular, standard looking compost bin in your yard space seems a bit unsightly to you, this thing has got your yard covered. For composters, this might just be the solution to concerns over the decor of your yard or landscape design. With aeration slats beneath the seat area that serves both the minimalist design of the bench as well as keeping the compost oxygenated, the compost bench is quite the novelty item that accomplishes both form and function in one nice product to furnish your yard. The bench is 21 inches from the seat to the ground with the hinged seat cover as the access lid for placement, removal, and turning of the compost. Made from 100% recycled lumber, the bench is resistant to termites, decay, moisture, and solar rays. And for those concerned about the smell that may generate from the compost should know that when done correctly, finished compost should have a faint earthy smell. Imagine a soothing afternoon on that bench in the yard with a book in your hands and the aroma of earth permeating the air.