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| My daughter displaying our finished compost bin. |
Parent Background
Why Compost? Did you
know that 27% of the solid waste that goes in landfills is compostable items
that could be used to make wonderful rich soils that have wonderful benefits
for your landscaping and garden. At the
same time that we are throwing away all of these items that we could easily
recycle on our own, we are spending money to purchase chemical fertilizers that
we just don’t know are truly safe. Now
this backyard composting activity is most certainly not going to remove all 27%
of those food scraps and yard waste from the waste stream, but it can give our
children a small start to learn how composting works, and to produce some great
organic (and free) fertilizer to use around our own homes. Composting is easy, unpleasant odor-free when
done correctly, and it’s even fun to see what can happen to the scraps we do
not eat. This activity can produce a
tiny amount of compost for a potted plant in an apartment, or a larger amount
for a whole garden depending how big of a container you use.
The
Activity – Make your own mini-composting bin.
Materials
Any plastic bin with a tight fitting lid with a greater than
16 in length. (We chose a larger-size
tote box to allow us to make more soil and because we already had a cracked one
ready to be upcycled)
Drill or knifeWet stuff – weeds that do not have seeds yet(adding weeds that have seeded will just spread weeds to whatever you use the compost on), fresh grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps from food preparation or left overs, coffee grounds, tea bags (remove staple), egg shells, plants.
Items to avoid: Meat,
bones, fats, oils, breads, pasta, nuts, glossy paper, and animal or human
wastes. Though some of these items can
be composted, it is best to avoid them in small scale composting.
Procedure:
1.
Prepare
your composting bin by drilling holes for ventilation and drainage.
a.
Drill at least 4
¼”-1/2” holes in the bottom of the plastic bin. We made holes in each corner and then a
couple of smaller ones in the middle for drainage.
b.
Poke holes along the top of the bin at least
every 3 inches. Our holes were about ¼”
. Make a series of 10-12 holes through
the lid of the plastic bin also to provide further aeration. It is recommended to make the holes ¼”-1/2”
also.
c.
If you find later that your compost is
developing a smell you can add more holes, as a bad odor is usually the result
of not enough air getting into the compost.
2.
Place a bottom layer of dry materials filling up
about ¼ -1/2 of the bin.
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| The kids tearing up old newspaper for the bottom layer of the compost bin. |
3.
Layer dry and “wet” items trying to keep the mix
from at least 50% dry materials.
4.
Stir or thoroughly shake the compost bin every
couple of days for the first month and then every week to two weeks as the
compost develops.
5.
After the
first two weeks the compost should be warmer than the outside temperature as a
result of the process of bacteria breaking down the plant materials in the
compost. If the compost is no longer
warm to the touch on the inside, you should add more wet materials and stir it
in.
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| The kids shaking up the box of dried materials. |
6.
This compost bin can be kept inside depending on
the size, but should be exposed to some sunlight and moisture to help the
decomposition process.
7.
Within 4- 6 months depending on the temperature
where you live, you will have rich soil to put on your spring plantings as well
as a number of opportunities for your child to explore and observe nature’s
ability to recycle.
Tying it all Together
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| Dry materials in the compost bin - grasses, leaves, old newspaper. |
I look forward to reporting on the progress
of our compost bin throughout the year, I hope that you will start your own with
your family and swap stories with me.
1/5/2012 Update. After about 3 weeks our compost bin was getting pretty full from all the veggies and fruits in our diet. The kids LOVED taking the compost out every day (we kept a coffee can in the kitchen) and stirring up the compost. After we finished adding to it, I kind of fell down on the job of stirring it up regularly. Today, I went out to check and found some good and bad results. First there is no smell whatsoever, so we are going well at keeping good bacteria going. We did have quite the flock of fruit flies but luckily no large bug colony. After reading, it seems like it is a bit wet in there and that I may have added to many greens and need more of the dry stuff. Obviously some of the compost has already broken down because there was more space than before. I added some additional dry leaves from our forested backyard and will be putting some newspaper shreds in as well. Lastly there was quite a bit of fuzzy mold, it didn't look like it would eat me, but it was there. I wasn't sure, but I am told that mold isn't neccessarily a bad thing, just part of the breaking down process. I'll update again soon.
1/5/2012 Update. After about 3 weeks our compost bin was getting pretty full from all the veggies and fruits in our diet. The kids LOVED taking the compost out every day (we kept a coffee can in the kitchen) and stirring up the compost. After we finished adding to it, I kind of fell down on the job of stirring it up regularly. Today, I went out to check and found some good and bad results. First there is no smell whatsoever, so we are going well at keeping good bacteria going. We did have quite the flock of fruit flies but luckily no large bug colony. After reading, it seems like it is a bit wet in there and that I may have added to many greens and need more of the dry stuff. Obviously some of the compost has already broken down because there was more space than before. I added some additional dry leaves from our forested backyard and will be putting some newspaper shreds in as well. Lastly there was quite a bit of fuzzy mold, it didn't look like it would eat me, but it was there. I wasn't sure, but I am told that mold isn't neccessarily a bad thing, just part of the breaking down process. I'll update again soon.
