Composting: Turn trash into treasure

Good news! The seedlings recovered! I aired them out (ie: took off the lid and opened the window a crack) and the mould is gone! As you can see, all of the seedlings are now doing very well - can't wait to plant them outdoors!

In other exciting news, B and I purchased a composter! It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but we were limited by our condo-living. Growing up, the only people I knew with a compost lived on a farm but composting is making a come-back and for good reason. The benefits of composting are many, for your garden and the environment. Most of us throw good organic waste (fruit and vegetable scraps, paper towels, coffee grinds, etc) to the landfill with the rest of our garbage. And why not, it will biodegrade, right? Wrong. Contrary to popular belief, organic waste does not biodegrade in the landfill, but is broken down anaerobically in bags (without oxygen). This process produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Composting is a great way to manage organic waste because it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and turns the waste back into nutrient-rich compost, which can then be used to grow more food. Some cities, such as Toronto, offer a green bin program which picks up organic waste, in addition to blue bin recycling programs. For those of us without that service, or with a little backyard space, the better option is to start your own compost.

This is my dream composter, the Roto-cycle:

This baby is compact and user friendly. The downside - the cost. Call me cheap, but since we plan on selling our condo in the next year or so, I didn't want to invest $200 in a composter that may or may not be coming with us. Thankfully, a local organization called Green Calgary is offering a great deal on rain barrels and composters for those who pre-purchase. $35 is a steal of a deal.

The composter we purchased through Green Calgary is the Garden Gourmet. It is quite small - small enough to sit in the corner on our terrance without being an eye sore. This is my pride and joy:

"The Garden Gourmet compost bin holds 11 cubic feet of material and weighs 29 pounds. Parts are easily assembled – no tools – just follow the diagram in the instruction booklet. Finished size is 24L x 24W x 36H inches. It is black plastic that is at least 51% recycled including post consumer waste."

For those of you new to composting, I highly recommend you consider starting.  

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