The Countertop Compost Crock

To all of you mamas who have a garden, here is one way to reduce your trash and save money on fertilizer. Counter top composting is a quick and easy way to conserve resources.

Being a green mama, I try to minimize the amount of trash that I generate. Cooking meals made of natural ingredients, fruits, and veggies can generate a lot of organic waste. Rather than throwing it in the trash, try composting. You don't need a fancy crock, a tupperware with a lid will work to start. Each day throw in your banana peels, apple cores, and broccoli stems. Once it's full, dump your waste into a corner of the garden. In the spring, mix the soil from your compost pile throughout the entire garden space. You'll find you spend less money on fertilizers and have better soil composition.

When composting, be sure to follow a few simple guidelines. Only include plant material into your compost container. Starches can be included since these are plant based. Pasta, rice, bread, etc can be added to your compost. Animal products should not be composted. Meat/fish and animal fats do not readily break down and will attract all manner of insects. Avoid placing these into your compost crock. While plant oils do break down and do exist in plant materials, I do not recommend placing large concentrations of oil into your compost crock. If you deep fry using veggie/plant oil, I would discourage you from pouring the oil into your compost. They tend to be tough to break down. However, post-dinner scraps that were cooked in a small amount of plant oil can be added to your compost, as long as they are plant based. Remember, no meats!

Counter top composting is quick and easy. This is one of those positive things you can do that doesn't take a lot of time or energy. After dumping my crock into the garden, I rinse it out, and pour the rinse water into my potted plants (they love it). If you decide to go for a fancy crock, I recommend the ones from Gardner's Supply Company. They have these nifty carbon filters in the lids that help with decomp odors. You can check out their supply at the folloing address:

http://www.gardeners.com/Kitchen-Compost-Crock/20707,13006,default,cp.html

Happy Composting!