Whoopsie-Daisy Composting 101

On the north side of the backyard, in the no-dig zone, sits a humble composter, adapted from a kitchen trash can, foot pedal and all, with some holes poked in it with a sharp screwdriver for air. After about 6 months of occasionally remembering to use it, it's nearly full. The last thing I put in it was a cantaloupe rind, covered by some hastily-pulled weeds as a sort-of camouflage.

Until last night, I'd never had a problem with animals being interested in it, unless you count the cane toads who like to sit on the foot pedal from time to time and make me jump back a few feet. This morning, I noticed that the lid was off the hinges and propped up against the fence behind it. Thankfully, it was still standing upright. Apparently whatever animal got into it decided it wasn't worth any further effort, because nothing was disturbed except for the weed-camouflage.

I guess I'd better get the shovel and stir it up some, just in case. For all I know, the critter was on a recon mission.

I honestly have almost no idea what I'm doing with composting. Certain items (like fruits, vegetable stems, stems & twigs) are considered "brown", while other stuff (coffee grounds, garden waste except for stems & twigs, and vegetables except for stems) is considered "green". You want the green and brown to be roughly balanced, layer-wise. Add a little water and stir it up occasionally. Eventually it gets brown and crumbly looking, and then you can add shovelfuls of it to your garden. There are many books and websites with actually detailed information if you are really interested- I know I have to refer back to my sources frequently, given my lackluster memory.

It's probably not going to end up being that big of a helper in the garden, but it's one of those projects that makes you feel like you're doing something. I have a composter = I am an Earth-helper. For that reason alone it is worth the (minimal) effort. Just learn from the error of my ways - really bury those cantaloupe rinds.