Spring has finally arrived and with that comes lots of chores in the garden. One of the biggest is amending your soil in your garden beds. A major component of this mix is compost aka black gold–at least that is what I call it. It is nutrient-rich and nourishes your plants so they will grow.
Here is a video of my first compost harvest of the season:
<I was actually shocked I was able to video and dig compost at the same time #madcameraskills>
I was so excited. This amazing stuff came from my kitchen scraps. It is true what they say,”One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
How to turn your scraps into black gold — compost? 5 Easy Steps
1)Get a compost bin for your kitchen. I got mine from world market, but you can find them pretty much any where.
My big red compost bin for all my kitchen scraps.
2)Start using your kitchen bin to collect your veggie peels, egg shells, coffee grounds and even paper towers. No MEAT, bones or oil.
3) Either create a pile or get one of the earth machines like mine (ironicly it isn’t a machine at all, just an aerated vessel with a sliding door).
4)Throughout the year just dump your scraps in your pile or bin.
5)Come spring time — Harvest and add to your soil.
It will save you some money too…I used to spend at least $40-$80 in compost when I had to buy it from the store. Now I just transform my scraps into compost. I use the extra cash to pay for my plant habit ;).
Happy Gardening!
m
You Should Grow That! 
5 comments
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May 1, 2014 at 7:39 pm
The Penwood Papers
Thank you so much for the compost bucket recommendation. I just received mine today and I’m so excited to start composting.
May 1, 2014 at 7:40 pm
Melissa
You are welcome! Changed my life. Enjoy!
May 6, 2014 at 8:09 pm
KateH
I’m wondering, how do you keep yours balanced? I live in a suburban neighborhood, and struggle to come up with “browns” Our leaves get picked up by the city in the fall (I don’t have anywhere to put them all at once in the fall), we don’t have chickens, or other good ways to produce the carbons, so my whole bin is basically nitrogen from my kitchen scraps. I throw in newspaper, but we don’t subscribe anymore so I only have so much of it. The result is my bin is WET and stinks like cow manure. My husband wasn’t excited about me composting in the first place, and he gets frustrated when we can smell it while sitting on our deck. Any suggestions would be so wonderful!
May 8, 2014 at 2:19 am
christineramsey
We are confused since that’s not a problem that we have. Can you add green from lawn clippings and throw in some fall leaves before they go to the street? I find an open pile works best. Put it behind the tool shed and put a little chicken wire around it. Then throw in spend plants, clippings and leaves, plus vegetable scraps–no meat or other stuff like that. I take some leaves to the street and throw the rest on the pile. I am very unscientific about it, but it manages to work.
Hope this helps. Christine
August 13, 2014 at 2:21 am
Lisa
I know this question was asked months ago but hey, I’m behind in my reading. I have a crosscut paper shredder that makes great additions to the compost pile. Not only does the shredded paper compost well but I get something useful from the junk mail I get.