How Does My Garden Grow?

This summer, I’ve been especially amazed by the size of the veggies from my garden. A 5.5 pound zucchini named Mammoth takes the cake, but I’ve also picked several other zucchini nearly the same size and huge tomatoes as well.

Normally when I see very large food items – think extra large chicken breasts, apples the size of melons – I’m turned off. That commercial chicken was probably injected with steroids and antibiotics, and the apples may have been grown in fertilizer-enhanced soil and sprayed with pesticides. All these things are very unhealthy and completely unnatural.

But I credit the large items growing in my garden to composting. I’ve talked about composting before, but I must reference the importance and simplicity of composting again, as I’ve seen its benefits of late. Composting is the most natural way to get important minerals and vitamins back into the soil. It’s especially important if you use the same patch of land for your garden year after year.

Composting it’s also nature’s way of recycling. Before I learned any better, I figured that food scraps tossed into my regular kitchen trash bag would just disintegrate at the landfill. But because the food is locked into a trash bag and crammed into a heaping pile with other trash, it pretty much just sits there…for a long time. (And to be honest, thinking about everything in a trash bag disintegrating back into the ground really freaks me out.)

I’ve had people ask me – is it better to throw produce scraps away or put them down the garbage disposal? My answer: Neither. Start a compost pile and send those nutrients back into the earth. Spread the compost in garden and around your flower beds in the fall. Give the earth a little something back for all its given you!

Composting Questions Answered

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to ask questions or make comments. I'm thrilled to help out however I can or make recommendations. Please feel free to continue sending in comments!

"How can I compost in a condo?" My sister Ashlee, who was one person who inspired me to blog and writes A Year in the Kitchen (a fantastic foodie blog), asked how someone who lives in an apartment or condo can compost. Ash, you may not be crazy about this answer, but here goes. Vermicomposting is using red earthworks or red wigglers to break down compostable material. The best - and pretty much the only - way to compost indoors is to use vermicomposting. Read more at Wikipedia (thanks Dave for the link!)

Personally I don't know if I could handle vermicomposting, so here is an alternative. You know how people often buy carbon offsets (e.g., because you can't stop driving, you essentially give money to a non-profit for how much carbon your car burns; the money is then used for alternative energy resources) - you could make a pledge to be more diligent in your recycling, purchase organic produce or begin using a reusable coffee cup.

"Are coffee filters really compostable?" Mrs. Riehle, from what I've found, coffee filters compost best when using vermicomposting. The worms need bedding, and it seems they love paper! However, if you're not into vermicomposting, I found a few reusable coffee filters online. Check these out - another simple change you can make each day:
http://www.ecofilter.com/
http://www.greenhome.com/products/kitchen/coffee_accessories/tea000001
http://www.greenfeet.com/itemMatrix.asp?MatrixType=1&GroupCode=6011-05890

The Garbage-less Lunch

I started a compost pile in my backyard last summer. It’s a fantastic way to avoid sending natural food waste to the landfill (where, contrary to popular belief, it is not helping other trash biodegrade). Yet even with a compost pile at home, I still threw away compostable lunch items while at work. That’s until I saw the light…

Last week, I realized that I can create a garbage-less lunch. Hear me out: I packed – in my reusable lunch bag – a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a reusable plastic container; an apple, banana, tangerine and diet pop. After I ate the sandwich, I put all the peels, seeds and cores from my fruit back in the empty plastic container. The pop can went back into my lunch bag with the fruit waste. When I got home that night, I put the can in the recyclables and the food waste in the compost pile. Voila…the garbage-less lunch.

During these times where typical Americans generate nearly four pounds of trash each day, I’m happy to say that I’m doing my part to bring down that average. Maybe you can’t bring home your compostables, but consider ways to reduce your trash output each day: Pack your lunch in a reusable bag; reuse plastic silverware; reuse your morning towel; use those orange newspaper bags to pick up dog poop – you get the point.