Let the Decomposition Begin!

Hi all ya'll Garden Growers and Garden Groupies!

I've barely written on a blog, much less written a post about decomposing food waste, but that's what this entry is all about! The garden did not need to be watered last night, thanks to a wonderfully ground-soaking spring rain, therefore the composter got some extra attention. New additions include: a large pumpkin which I had left-over from Halloween (yes, I kept this fruit a very, very, veeeerrryyy long time, but it was just so beautiful and now ended up serving a special purpose in the end!), and one large bag full of starbucks coffee grounds! (A barista told us to stop by the Washington Square Starbucks on Friday's, when they usually make fresh bags.) So the garden received both brown and...orange?

According to http://www.compostguide.com/, a compost requires a ratio of about 25 parts brown material to 1 part green material! You know what that means...bring on the brown!...which even includes newspapers, cardboard boxes, and dryer lint, which are all carbon-rich materials! (wet and/or tear these items into small pieces first, but don't over pile the composter, recycle the rest!)

A bit about what's going on inside our large plastic outer space-like worm home we call a composter:
"Compost is the end product of a complex feeding pattern involving hundreds of different organisms, including bacteria, fungi, worms, and insects. What remains after these organisms break down organic materials is the rich, earthy substance your garden will love. Composting replicates nature's natural system of breaking down materials on the forest floor. In every forest, grassland, jungle, and garden, plants die, fall to the ground, and decay. They are slowly dismantled by the small organisms living in the soil. Eventually these plant parts disappear into the brown crumbly forest floor. This humus keeps the soil light and fluffy." -compostguide.com

What a wonderful addition the composter is to our garden! We can all become familiar with what items to add to the compost and what not to add and reduce our trash in the process!