Hippie

Some of you may not know….I am a hippie at heart. (At least that is what Cory calls me.) Last year when gas prices were soaring around $4 per gallon I joined the crowd and purchased a Natural Gas Car. Yes, Natural Gas…it cost about $.75 per gallon! Not only did we save on the cost of gas but the state of Utah was so generous and gave us a tax rebate of $3,000. So yes, it was well worth the purchase! Oh yeah…If I forgot to mention…I can drive in the carpool lane with my clean air license plate! Totally worth it because I commute to Draper!

So moving on to my latest hippie adventures…COMPOSTING! I have been gardening for the last 10 years. I have suggested to Cory we should start composting and he refused (now that I have been doing it for a few months I know why…more to come, however, I will never stop!)

Cory has been a wonderful husband…in most recent years he started purchasing me what I like to call “happy Friday” presents. A few months ago my happy Friday present was a compost container. I adore it! I have a scrap bucket in our home and instead of using our garbage disposal and add to the sewer system we have started reusing our table scraps (compost approved items will be listed as well). Everyday I have to go and rotate the container. In the heat of the summer this is not a very enjoyable task (STINKY) but the soil and what we are doing for the earth is worth every minute. I have yet to produce any soil but as soon as I have my first batch you will all see the rewards of composting!

BTW-If you are thinking about taking up composting a tip…add a little soil in with your scraps it will help reduce the smell.

-GRASS/LAWN CLIPPINGS
-HAY
-WOOD CHIPS AND SAWDUST
-LEAVES
-WEEDS AND OTHER GARDEN WASTES
-KITCHEN WASTES
Fruit and vegetable peels/rinds, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells, and similar materials are great stuff to compost. They tend to be high in nitrogen (this puts them in the 'greens' category), and are usually quite soft and moist. As such, kitchen wastes need to be mixed in with drier/bulkier materials to allow complete air penetration.

TIP:
Avoid composting meat scraps, fatty food wastes, milk products, and bones -- these materials are very attractive to pest.