Composting: it's just that simple !!

I remember when I first got into gardening on my own back in the early 70's, organic gardening was just getting started ( as a popular concept). The early gardening books had detailed explanations on how to compost, with layering, turning and special bins and tools. There were even workshops (still are ;-) on how to do it "properly" with lots of terms and strictures. It sounded like such a lot of work.
Why would you want to compost ?
It is a great way to dispose of your kitchen waste and condition your soil at the same time.
Guess what ?! It's really very simple.
All you need is a 3 gallon container with a lid like the one in the photo above, a shovel and the desire to do this.

We keep two bins outside our kitchen door. The lid is important, it keeps the night crew* from helping themselves to whatever is in there.

Inside next to the kitchen sink we have two smaller containers: one for compost, one for the chickens.

This just makes it simpler while I am cooking. Any kind of container with a lid will work.
Or you can just keep a bowl out and empty it at the end of the day.
What goes in there ?? Anything you want ! I looked into ours today, it had: paper towels, coffee grounds with paper filter, onions skins, orange peels and vegetable trimmings.

Once your 3 gallon bucket is full, find a spot in your yard that needs the soil conditioned, inside a garden bed, or next to a fruit tree for example.

Dig a whole about 12 to 18 inches deep, dump the compost in and cover with dirt.
If you have a very active night crew* or dogs, cover the spot with a rock or paving stone for a few days.

Done, yes, you are done. I know it's hard to believe. The stuff in that hole will do it's own thing without you turning it or taking it's temperature. I promise. We have done this to our entire yard back and front over time. We have the most amazing soil, soft, dark and full of worms. It supports a lot of fruit tree and berries.

But don't take my word for it. Ask my brother.

Here he is on a recent trip to fossil beach up the coast. He's holding a fossil he found there. He looks happy because he found that fossil. He is also happy he tried this method. He was skeptical and then amazed at how quickly the stuff he put in the hole turned to dirt.

This is a photo of goats at the goat farm we visited while up the coast the other day. If you had goat pellets you could add that to your compost. We do that with our chicken poo.

I realize that this method may not work for every yard, but do try and think outside the bin. You may just find that composting is easier than you think.


* night crew is a term we use to describe the various varmints that roam our neighborhood at night: raccoons, skunks, possum, cats, rats, dogs, mice etc...