This year has been a year of experimentation for us. My wife started her first square foot garden this Spring and at the same time, we set up our own compost bin. Keep in mind, though, that neither one of us have "green thumbs"...let alone any knowledge about gardening or composting beyond what we have Googled.
Fresh out of the gates though, it's actually been pretty productive for us. We've managed to dine on fresh green beans, strawberries, tomatoes, and peppers. And as long as my wife doesn't see the inch worms and grasshoppers that like to hide here and there, she'll eat the cauliflower and broccoli too. Not only are we teaching our sons and ourselves about the importance of growing and eating fresh veggies, we're also taking it a step further...literally...to the back corner of the yard...the compost bin.
Though it's not the fancy rolling kind, it's also not the chicken wire kind...just your basic black bin. We toss in our garden cast offs...like the squash plants that rotted out for some reason...with a little bit of kitchen scraps, combined with lawn clippings and weeds, saw dust, and coffee grounds. Mix it up a few times and we now have a small, but decent amount of compost available. And now that the weather has cooled a couple degrees, we'll head back outside and spread some of our homemade compost in our flowerbeds and pots to give our landscaping a bit of nutrition.
Composting isn't hard...and once you get past the initial "fear", it's easy to maintain. Lowe's has some great information about composting. But if you happen to live in the Kansas City area, check out the FREE class on backyard composting to be held Sept. 16th at the Johnson County Library on 87th and Lackman in Lenexa. Just in time too...the county commission is considering new regulations that would prohibit grass clippings and other yard waste from being deposited into the county landfill.
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