planting along side with decomposting kitchen scraps
Joy Ramluckun
3 months ago
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popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
3 months agoRelated Discussions
Staggard collection of kitchen scraps
Comments (12)"For the life of me, I don't understand why composting has become such a science project for so many." "however you do it... it all decomposes in the end." Right. For decades I never knew the terms "greens" and "browns" but still dumped all our kitchen scraps in a pile and called it composting. Never added anything and never turned it. Once a year there would be some very nice dark soil-like material under the recent additions. I'd put that around the plants and never used any fertilizer in the flower garden and everything did well. Since reading on this forum and elsewhere I now know I can get more of this wonderful "black gold" by doing things differently but if anyone doesn't want more work they can do it the easy way as I did for decades. To answer the original poster, just dump the scraps on a pile or some sort of simple fenced bin, add "browns" if you can get them, and mix it up a bit if you are inclined. Stick around this forum and you may start doing things differently from time to time as I am. Anyway you do it (within reason) is good for the earth. It's really a simple thing unless you like to complicate it....See MoreNutrients in kitchen scraps
Comments (17)While I'm not totally indifferent to the nutrient values of various kitchen scraps, when I trench compost I regard it as attracting and feeding the worms so anything they eat has value. It's the worm castings that have the high nutrient value IMO. I doubt any table of nutrient values could be 100% correct as there will be different amounts of nutrients in veggie scraps depending on where and how they are grown. I eat mostly organic, altho buy it, so I *hope* there is high nutrient value but there are few guarantees of that. The following link has nutrient values of some foods we eat and one might get an idea of which nutrients may be higher in one veggie over another. However, apparently veggie skins have higher mineral values than the inside of the veggie so that may not be reflected in the table. I'm supposed to eat the skins but won't unless I grow it. It's known that bananas are high in potassium which is why many people bury the peels near their roses which require potassium to thrive. Here is a link that might be useful: nutrient value of some foods...See MoreUsing Kitchen Scraps in Organic Compost
Comments (30)Ok, again, you've said the literature should reflect what 'certified organic gardening' really is. 'certified organic gardening' DOES NOT EXIST. No such thing. Organic certification is a standardization of many organic farming concepts (that were around long before certification) towards a goal of consumer protection - truth in labeling. This is only relevant to companies producing products for sale to consumers. This does not apply to me as an organic gardener, nor to all those poor authors you feel are being hypocritical at you by writing books for organic gardeners. Even so, I do not believe organic certification requires using organic stuff to make organic compost - correct me if I'm wrong. If you'd like to write your congressman and ask his permission to use conventional feedstocks in your compost, go ahead....See MoreAdding kitchen scraps to a new bin?
Comments (14)Thanks all, for the comments and suggestions. Back in November when I started, I was saving all the fruit and veggie waste we went through each week. That soon got out of control as there was always more than the worms could process in the same amount of time. So I mashed it up and froze it thinking to save it for 'a rainy day'. Unfortunately, that day never came as the worms still cannot eat it fast enough and so we end up throwing away alot of stuff that could go to the worms (we don't have a compost pile or a place for one). Now, i've heard that blending to a baby-food consistency, as well as freezing & defrosting are both acceptable forms of feeding as they break down cell structure and make it easier for the worms to eat it (even if it's not mouldy). So, I will probably layer the defrosted mush in half the bin, wait a week (to let it heat up if it will) and then add the worms. I'm not putting in all the frozen mush at once (i've got around 5 kgs and that represents alot of veggies). Shaul...See Moreannpat
3 months agoJoy Ramluckun
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