Broccoli Cupcake

I’ve been talking about composting for over a year, but because I know so little about it composting has seemed a like a huge project that I just wasn’t ready to tackle.  I had so many questions.  Do I have to buy an expensive compost bin?  Where do I put it?  Will it make my yard smell?  Will it attract bugs/rodents?  How long does it take for the food scraps to turn into something useful?  What can I throw in there?

Since our new organic garden will be completely built, planted and ready to go by this Sunday – and Earth Day is this Thursday - I decided this would be the week I overcame my fear and started to compost.  But as of Monday, I still didn’t know where to start.  So I started by answering my own questions.

1. Do I have to buy an expensive compost bin?  There are lots of ways to compost without a bin, but based on my research it’s neater, easier and a little less smelly to use a bin.  We built the garden with the help from products we purchased through Gardens of Babylon, so I decided to cut myself some slack and just purchase a compost bin from Home Depot.  For some reason, that kinda feels like cheating, but that’s what I’m doing.  If you want to build one, here are some easy instructions.
2.  Where do I put it?  This probably sounds like a dumb question, but it needs to be easy or I won’t remember to do it.  I’ve decided to keep a small container on the kitchen counter where I can throw food scraps throughout the day so I don’t have to make numerous trips to the compost bin.  I’ll empty the container when it gets full or starts to smell.  The compost bin itself is next to the garden for easy access.
3.  Will it make my yard smell?  A smelly yard is a potential side effect, but only if I do a poor job of managing my compost, which is a very real possibility.  But I figure I’ll get the formula right over time.  Balancing the green and brown matter seems to be the key to avoiding the stink. 
4. Will it attract bugs/rodents?  Unfortunately, I have to get over my dislike of the creepy crawlies and understand that they are just part of the process (same issue I have with the garden).  But if I keep meat and cheese out of the bin I should be able to avoid nasty maggots and rodents.  I think I can handle the fruit flies. 
5. How long before I can use it?  Compost can take anywhere from a few months to a year.  Red wrigglers will speed up the process, but they seems to require a lot of extra work and it takes A LOT of worms to make a difference.  So I’m going to manage my ratios and moisture level and hope it won’t take 12 months.  We’ll see.
6. What can I throw into the bin?  It seems to be more important to focus on what I can’t throw in there.  Anything non-organic, meat, oils, dairy (except eggshells), feces or animal waste (that’s one seems like a gimme).  Most other food and yard wastes are fair game. 

The Daily Dump and VegWeb are two composting sites I came across that were helpful for me.  I also ordered a copy of Compost to reference along the way.

I’m looking forward to diving into this project and learning more.  If I can keep my house plants alive for two months I can do this!