The Joy of Composting…

I hope you are all having a great week.  I am so looking forward to the holiday weekend, are you?

This Saturday, we will be celebrating my son, Kai’s, 9th birthday.  I have to make a 3-layer icebox cake, which he is looking forward to.

To be honest, life has been rather crazy this week…

Landscape consults, kid’s doctor appt, buying a new car, preparing for my son’s birthday party, etc. have taken up much of my time.

I try hard to create new posts that I hope you find interesting, but right now, my brain is a blank 😉

So, I would like to re-run one of my favorite posts from over a year ago.  I hope you find it funny and helpful…

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I would like to introduce you to “Mr. Compost”, a resident of “The Refuge“, (and my brother-in-law).  He will be our guest blogger today.  As you can see from his name, he knows a thing or two about composting.

Mr. Compost turning his composter.

“You may have seen those “Turn Your Gold Into Cash” commercials on TV and if you had a lot of extra gold lying around your house, it would be appealing.  However, you have something even better that you are probably throwing away that can be turned into “gold” for your soil; kitchen scraps.”

Kitchen Scraps include apple cores, coffee grounds, egg shells, garden clippings, oranges and peels, bread and grass. The smaller the pieces, the easier it is for the bacteria to break them down.

Fruity Girl and Daisy Mom add kitchen waste to the composter.

“That’s right, instead of throwing away your vegetable scraps, you can create a place to compost those scraps and turn them into soil enhancers.”

“Black Gold”

“There are many websites about composting that you can visit to get you started on the composting process, but you can get in the habit of putting those scraps into a separate container so you can eventually put them back into your soil and enhance your garden.”

Refuge resident, Fruity Girl

“Get your whole family involved and have fun!”

*Okay, if you have been inspired, (and who hasn’t?) by Mr. Compost to start composting yourself, there is great information on how to get started here.

Many communities offer free workshops and compost bins to residents.  Check out your local waste management department’s website to see if they are offered in your area.  The majority of cities in the Phoenix metro area offer classes and compost bins).

**For additional information, please visit GippsLandGardener and read another post about composting.

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."