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.
Your dad was a pioneer! (My dad was born in Montreal, by the way, and my daughter is there now for university.) Volunteer plants are the best. I hope I get some in my raised beds this year. And thank you for the info about the egg shells deterring slugs. Good to know!
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
Thank you for all of these helpful tips! I know composting in winter is a bit more challenging. My sister (also in Canada) has been saving her dog's hair to give to a woman in her town (near Bobcaygeon) who spins it with other fiber to make yarn. But composting is much simpler, especially if you don't knit (or at least, you don't knit with dog hair!).
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?
I have two bins. One is a simple cylinder of heavy-duty plastic open at the top. When we have lots of rain in the forecast, I simply place a wooden board across the top of my open bin to keep it from getting soggy (when I remember, that is).
If you prefer something less crude, you can buy a closed bin. I have one very similar to this: https://unclejimswormfarm.com/product/outdoor-compost-bin/soil-saver-compost-bin/ I bought it 20 years ago and if I could redo things, I would just make another cylinder but out of chicken wire. I have a small pitchfork to turn the compost in the open bin. I rarely turn the pile in the closed bin and it still turns into compost (you pull it out of a door at the base of the bin). Tumbler bins turn the compost easily but I've never felt the need for one myself.
In summer, the contents do dry out, so I water them a bit, ideally with the grey water I collect in the kitchen and bathroom. (I now have two rain barrels but need to set them up.) I hope that helps. You can't really stop compost from happening if you wanted to!
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.
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?
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!
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.
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.
Your dad was a pioneer! (My dad was born in Montreal, by the way, and my daughter is there now for university.) Volunteer plants are the best. I hope I get some in my raised beds this year. And thank you for the info about the egg shells deterring slugs. Good to know!
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
Thank you for all of these helpful tips! I know composting in winter is a bit more challenging. My sister (also in Canada) has been saving her dog's hair to give to a woman in her town (near Bobcaygeon) who spins it with other fiber to make yarn. But composting is much simpler, especially if you don't knit (or at least, you don't knit with dog hair!).
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?
I have two bins. One is a simple cylinder of heavy-duty plastic open at the top. When we have lots of rain in the forecast, I simply place a wooden board across the top of my open bin to keep it from getting soggy (when I remember, that is).
If you prefer something less crude, you can buy a closed bin. I have one very similar to this: https://unclejimswormfarm.com/product/outdoor-compost-bin/soil-saver-compost-bin/ I bought it 20 years ago and if I could redo things, I would just make another cylinder but out of chicken wire. I have a small pitchfork to turn the compost in the open bin. I rarely turn the pile in the closed bin and it still turns into compost (you pull it out of a door at the base of the bin). Tumbler bins turn the compost easily but I've never felt the need for one myself.
In summer, the contents do dry out, so I water them a bit, ideally with the grey water I collect in the kitchen and bathroom. (I now have two rain barrels but need to set them up.) I hope that helps. You can't really stop compost from happening if you wanted to!
Very interesting. I was considering a worm bin but looks like simply tossing food waste with the right “brown” composition is enough to do the trick.
That's all we do. Our setup is very low maintenance and makes beautiful compost.
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.
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?
Anyone in cottage country (Ontario, Canada) have good tips to keep bears away from compost bins?
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!
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.