| There is no need to let kitchen waste go to | | | | leaves overnight. 3. Put about two inches of |
| waste! Gardeners can spend lots of money buying | | | | gravel in the bottom of the container and fill with |
| good soil or compost to make the garden grow. | | | | water up to ½ inches below the rock line. 4. |
| There is, however, no need to do that if you eat | | | | Drain the grass/leaves mix and place it in the |
| at home more than once a week! Composting | | | | container. Let it sit for 48 hours. Once the |
| kitchen waste solves several problems | | | | temperature has stabilized to 100 degrees or |
| simultaneously by converting kitchen scraps that | | | | lower for at least 24 hours, you can add the |
| would otherwise be thrown away into rich, organic | | | | worms. 5. Let the worms become acquainted |
| soil for the garden. Incorporating compost into the | | | | with their new space for about a week. At that |
| soil helps keep the soil alive and life-sustaining. | | | | point, you can begin adding food for the worms. |
| Creating your own compost saves money and | | | | 6. One pound of worms can consume about one |
| helps the environment. | | | | pound of kitchen scraps per day. After about two |
| Composting 101 There are a few things that | | | | months, you can remove some of the |
| every new composter needs to know: · Kitchen | | | | composted material and continue to add food. |
| compost can include any vegetable matter or | | | | Composting Kitchen Scraps Outside |
| paper. Do not add oils, meats or fats to your | | | | If you have plenty of space outside in a part sun |
| kitchen compost, as it will cause your compost to | | | | part shade area, consider a compost pile to |
| smell and attract animals. Additionally, you need | | | | compost your kitchen waste outside in the |
| certain conditions of heat and bacterial activity to | | | | garden. You can decide whether you want to |
| properly compost these materials. · Shred your | | | | maintain a hot compost pile or a cold compost pile. |
| scraps or tear them up into the smallest pieces | | | | Hot compost cooks faster, but you do have to |
| possible. This will help the scraps break down | | | | turn it and monitor it. With cold compost, you can |
| faster. · Compost operations need green and | | | | employ worms to help break down your kitchen |
| brown materials. Kitchen waste falls into the | | | | scraps. With either type of pile you will need a |
| category of green materials. In addition to the | | | | combination of green materials and brown |
| kitchen waste, you will need to add dried | | | | materials to start your pile. If you are composting |
| shredded leaves or other brown matter. · One | | | | cold and not using a container, build a bottom |
| of the most efficient ways to compost kitchen | | | | framework of larger twigs and materials. |
| waste is to use worms. Vermicomposting can be | | | | Alternate layers of green materials (kitchen |
| done outside or under the sink, depending upon | | | | scraps and freshly cut grass) and brown materials |
| the space available and the winter climates. | | | | (shredded leaves and straw). You can continue to |
| (Worms cannot sustain chilling temperatures.) | | | | add layers to the pile, occasionally building in a |
| Kitchen Composting Many successful gardeners | | | | layer of sticks. The layer made of sticks allows |
| make all of their compost in the kitchen! You can | | | | oxygen into the pile that helps the bacteria and |
| compost in the space under your kitchen sink, | | | | other soil organisms that will eventually break |
| especially if you employ worms to help. This is | | | | down the kitchen waste in the pile. Composting |
| how you build an under the sink worm bin: 1. Get | | | | kitchen waste is a simple and rewarding way to |
| a Tupperware or a small trash can and poke | | | | recycle your green kitchen scraps and have rich, |
| holes in the top for air. 2. In a separate container, | | | | fertile soil for your garden. |
| soak a mix of grass clippings and dry shredded | | | | |