Happy Accidents

Everyday I try to make environmentally friendly choices for my family.  One of the consistent ways we go about this is by composting.  We have a small container on our kitchen counter.  You can purchase elaborate contraptions at the store with charcoal filters and nicely sealing lids, but the flip lid plastic container that has a latch lock works just fine for us.  There is no need for the charcoal filters because we empty it every couple of days depending on how fast it fills it up.  

In goes our coffee grounds and filters, egg shells, and any other fruit and veggie scraps that we create.  One rule I follow is absolutely no animal fats!  

This is our compost pile.  This aspect is more my husbands department, unless our container on the counter needs emptying and he is not home.  He adds yard waste like pine needles, leaves, hops, and grass clippings. Every now and then he tosses it with a large pitch fork.  He made it out of wood scraps and placed it in the back corner of our yard.  It does not have a bottom so the worms can get into it and help along the process.  Before you know it, you have beautiful, nutrient rich soil for your garden.  Every spring and sometimes fall, depending on how full our compost pile is, we empty it into our garden. My husband tills it in to the existing soil and it creates a nice fresh bed to plant seeds and seedlings.

Every year we end up with at least one happy accident.  This is what I call it when seeds from our compost pile do not decompose and they end up growing in our garden the following year.  My in-laws bought our daughter a small pumpkin for Halloween last year and after the holiday we dumped it into the compost pile.  Sure enough, this year we had pumpkin pie pumpkins growing in our garden.  Sure, they aren't expected in my nicely planned out garden, but how could I get rid of the little seeds that could?!

This year we also had acorn squash grow from last year's garden scraps.

I'd love to hear what kind of things you compost.  Maybe I'll learn a thing or two.  Happy composting to you all.

Until next time,

Blair