Ecosystems
Posted By matt on October 7, 2007
I've started adding vegetable-based kitchen refuse to the lawn clippings pile in an attempt to “balance” the pile a little more. Just lawn clippings doesn't break down as rapidly as one would like. So, I've been adding vegetable scraps and spoiled bits, tea leaves, coffee grounds, eggshells, etc. to it as well. I've been skipping the meat, because it tends to attract critters and takes a long time to decompose.
There are several ideas here. For starters, we need the compost to add back to the soil for the garden. It also reduces our curbside waste, which is already very low, provided we haven't been buying too many things (packaging generates a lot of non-recyclable waste). Finally, it keeps our organic material local – why bother shipping it down to New Jersey when we can use it here.
Anyway, for folks who don't have a large amount of space to devote to a compost pile (I'm thinking folks in the suburbs w/ small yards, etc.) but still keep flowers or small gardens, I came across the Naturmill Indoor Composter, which I thought I would share. Basically, it heats and turns the pile for you automatically, so you get a very rapid breakdown. It also gets rid of an unsightly pile or bin, and looks just like an overgrown garbage can. If we didn't have 5 acres of land, I'd likely consider getting one. However, as it stands, just going out and turning it with a pitching fork every few weeks seems to be working well.
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