I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’ve got to warm up to this composting process. Don’t get me wrong, I am 100% for composting, but it’s the logistics that I seem to have some issue with.
Last year I purchased a composting bin
I was very excited about composting (and still am). I put the composting bin together and placed in an area in my yard. I read the little brochure and started composting.
I added yard clippings and household wastes, mixed, stirred and added the appropriate amount of water. I was so thrilled that I was doing my part to help the environment. Everything was going swimmingly until my 8-legged friends started to spend more time at my bin than I did. Additionally, I realized that I placed the bin in an inconvenient area of the yard.
Then there was the issue of accumulating household waste in an indoor container to save for the composting bin (that stuff packs a mean punch when you take the lid off). I guess I had not thought out the process long enough, or maybe I wasn’t a dedicated as I thought I was. Composting is not for the faint of heart. You’ve got to have the right mindset.
Ashamed and upset up with my allowing my 8-legged friends to scare me away from my composting efforts, I decided to find out how could I get around it. Not wanting to give in to my immediate gratification upbringing and toss everything in the trash, I decided to analyze my logistical problems, which included but were not limited to:
- Educating my family on what is compostable (steak bones are not)
- Moving the compost bin to a more convenient location (I prefer the kitchen, but hubby nixed that idea).
- Accumulating household recyclable trash
- Those darned 8-legged friends.
As of this post, I have not resolved all of my issues. I did, however, move the composting bin a little closer to the house and now that winter is over, I’ve started to accumulate household waste 
again (I’m still trying to determine which container is best). As far as the spiders go, I put diatomaceous earth all around the bin to kill those that are brave enough to challenge me. I’m having another go at it.
I thought about using a worm-composting bin, but I’m not totally sold on that idea as yet (although the thought of indoor composting is sounding better each day). I’ll keep at this for a while. Who knows, maybe it’s like learning to write with your left hand (if you’re right-handed), the more you do it, the better you get.
May 25, 2012 Update: I think I’ve found the method for recycling that is a hand in glove fit for me (and others like me). It’s called bokashi.
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I thought compost was supposed to create enough heat to combat cold temperatures outside. My compost heap is frozen and I can’t use it. All my winter food scraps are going into the trash now. I feel guilty. What am I doing wrong?
Pat, I don’t think you did anything wrong. I usually freeze some of my scraps during the winter months because my compost pile is frozen.
How will I know the compost is ready to use for fertilizing my garden?
SJ, you know its ready when you can no longer recognize the composted items. The dirt will look very beautiful, rich and black.
My kids think I’m weird, but it’s really a beautiful sight.
To kill the smell you have to add dirt to a compost bin. The bacteria in the dirt will combat the bacteria in the food and help to neutralize the smell, as well as create a barrier between the food and the bugs. I just use a few open bins of dirt on my porch (I don’t have a yard). I can’t put paper products in it because I don’t have worms to help break down the material, but all my food scraps go into the bin. I recently found that putting the food into old soy milk containers with holes punched in the bottom and then putting dirt on top, putting water on it occassionally, and letting it sit for a couple weeks will turn the food into rich dirt pretty quickly which I can then add back into my compost bin to cover any new food.
Thanks for the great tips, Erin. I like the porch idea. My porch is a lot closer to the kitchen than the yard is. If I can manage to keep things from smelling, it might work out very well.