Composting...So Simple, So Frugal, So Green

Composting....it's a great way to allow for the natural cycle of planting, growing, harvesting and eating, without added manufactured chemicals and at no additional cost.  Your food producing plants will be healthier for you to eat and produce more fruit, and your decorative plants will be more beautiful than ever.  It sounds like a lot of dirty work and brings up thoughts of having to make or buy special bins; and then you need to be some kind of scientist to figure out the complicated formula for layering and mixing all the ingredients, right? 

Nope!...it's simple....

1) Collect food scraps from your kitchen - anything except meat and milk products - in whatever container you want that has a tight lid.  I'd recommend something just big enough to hold the scraps of one or two days so it doesn't get smelly, especially in the summer.

2) Bury them in a hole or trench in your yard.  The hole needs to be at least 8 inches deep, but only needs to be big enough to accommodate as many scraps as you've collected.  Throw in some of the scraps, then some dirt and a handful of grass clippings or leaves, and layer this way, depending on how much you've got to bury, and top with dirt. And that's it!

You can choose to dig small random holes throughout your flower or vegetable beds and you'll be fertilizing your plants as you go.  Or, you can choose an area or two to be the compost zones, dig trenches, fill them with scraps and layer with some grass clippings or leaves (just a couple handsful at a time) and then top with the soil you dug out.  In a few months, you can turn over the dirt in this area and spread some of it in your flower and vegetable gardens, and start again.

You don't need to have all the specialized and expensive equipment you read about, or follow any exact formula. And in my opinion, this is just so much cheaper, easier, cleaner, and takes up less space and time, so it is totally frugal! You can feel good about doing something environmentally responsible, and you can enjoy the beautiful flowers and delicious veggies your gardens will produce.