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Jan 4, 2022Liked by Anne Marie Bonneau

I learned to compost from my dad who started composting in the late 1950s. We were, to my knowledge, the only yard in our Montreal suburb with a compost box! I have composted, when possible, ever since I left home. Last summer, I added compost to a new raised vegetable garden bed and some “volunteer” cantaloupe grew! I do crush egg shells as I add them and having bits of egg shell in the soil helps deter slugs.

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Jan 4, 2022Liked by Anne Marie Bonneau

Another great source for hair is when you brush your dogs. If you don’t have a dog, ask neighbours and/ or friends who have dogs.

I also put a lot of clippings and dried leaves from my houseplants in the compost. I always pour my pasta water and water from soaking cashews directly to the compost so it doesn’t attract animals to the garden.

If you eat fish, the bones can be buried in the garden as well. I don’t bury seafood shells as they attract animals, even if buried.

Living in Canada, we struggle to find brown matter in the winter so I leave the stalks of n my garlic to add as we use it during the winter b

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Jan 4, 2022Liked by Anne Marie Bonneau

Thank you. Would appreciate more details on tools needed for “sustainable” composting. For instance, sounds like tossing in the backyard doesn’t feel like would suffice since it would dry out in summers and soggy out in rains. Also - turning over would be efficient with a composting drum rather than tossing in the open.

Can you share such tips for an year round maintainable composting method?

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We switched to a composting service a couple of years ago because they accept so much more than I can compost at home in our location (cooked meat and bones! Leftovers! BPI products! Even some fast food wrappers!) and because our four teenagers simultaneously think composting is awesome, don't want to mess with gross substances, and bring home a fair amount of fast food waste. The bonus is that I can get an equal amount of finished compost back, so that's a huge boost for our garden.

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Jan 6, 2022·edited Jan 6, 2022

I live in France where summers can be super hot and winters frozen (although we are witnessing shorter and warmer winters) I’ve had a compost on and off for years as it reduces waste that we send to incinerate, but it keeps attracting vermin… any tips to keep the rats away?

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Anyone in cottage country (Ontario, Canada) have good tips to keep bears away from compost bins?

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Wow! My kids think I am the “crazy compost lady saving the planet” BUT here you all are driving foodscraps to compost share programs!

Like Anne Marie, use the compost with door at bottom. every summer and end of fall, get four full wheel barrels of sweet smelling soil! Free! Made by insects and worms!

Encouraging others in neighborhood to start too!

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I used to live in Berkeley where we had a city-sponsored compost service; however, since moving to Sacramento, CA we can't compost in our apartment with a similar service. I found that local farmers' markets have a drop off site, so I go there once every other week to drop off our scraps. I would like to get into vermicomposting for our apartment, however, it does get over 100 degrees, and I wonder how to ensure the worms don't get sunburned or too hot in a container during summer months - or even stinky for that matter.

I have also been exploring making my own stock - both with veggie scraps and bone broth from meat bones. So that's been useful in using veggies in multiple ways.

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