a family and composting

My dad and mom are earthy folks.  Yep.  They taught us from a young age to not waste water and electricity.  And to not use too much toilet paper or paper towels.  I can just hear my Pop now, "your wasting a whole frigging tree!"  Ha!  My mom's approach, though more gentle, was just as powerful.  She enjoyed teaching us about nature and finding the beauty in its simplicity.  Her homemade meals for her crew of 6 kids was an endless task.  I can't say that I ever bought a lunch.  I look back and appreciate the love of gardening that they instilled in us.  All 6 of us have our own gardens in one form or another.  Fruit trees in front yards, eco-clubs and school gardens, raised vegetable boxes, endless rows of flowers, cold frames filled with lettuce.  These are the things that have been passed on to us.  To take care of this Earth and do our best by it.  Thanks Ma and Pop!

My folks...photo taken by Elizabeth Guzaldo

I first learned composting from my Pop.  He has been at it for years with a large homemade bin out back behind the pines.  One of my goals for the garden this year was to begin composting and teaching my beans about how we can make "good dirt."

I found this guy here 

I liked that he was made from 98% post industrial polyethylene and that he was lidded because we have some crazy buggers out back that get in to everything! 

Composting...

Brown + Green = Black Gold

• carbon-rich brown materials {dry leaves, plant stalks, pine needles, wood shavings, newspaper}
• nitrogen-rich green materials {fresh leaves, lawn clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags}
• try to add 3 times as many brown materials as green materials
• do not compost {meat, bones, animal waste, dairy products, diseased plants, seeded weeds, plants treated with herbicides or pesticides}
• chop garden clippings by running over them with a mower
• moisten materials to make them damp not soggy
• as soon as the bin is full let it "cook" turn once a week 

Free Healthy Fertilizer