Saga of composting preferences continues
As I dumped veggie scraps, egg shells and coffee grounds on the compost pile, my mind shifted to a gal who got started composting last summer. Our vibes must have crossed as I heard from her a day later, wondering if I continue to compost during the winter.
Yes I do, but it’s just a matter of adding to the pile and letting it do its own thing. I seldom stir or pay attention to the right combination of greens and browns. It experiences snow, wind and sunshine, just like us. My worm family didn’t survive.
We shared stories and establishing a support group came up. Sound crazy? Ironically I had yet another compost contact in the same week, then another.
As I’ve said in the past, you either take interest in the composting process or you absolutely do not. Believe me. Some people get passionate.
Why?
For me, it’s witnessing the natural miracle that turns trash into rich soil.
I still use the office coffee grounds as well as the rich blend saved for me at the 509 Broadway coffee shop. Those grounds create java that sparks community fellowship. For the passionate composter, sentimental value also plays in.
This may sound disgusting but a fellow composter was cleaning up a yard full of dog waste. She asked if it can be composted. Dog waste is a NO NO but livestock manure is especially beneficial. Interesting what a contrast from one animal to the other. That certainly isn’t an ingredient I plan to go after.
Back when our forefathers didn’t waste anything, manure was indeed their fertilizer. Makes you wonder how one would think of that. What didn’t go in the garden was dried and burned for fuel.
Spring will be here before you know it and compost will be a key component in many gardens and flower pots. Many folks will buy the transformed trash. Some will use fertilizer.
One thing about it, it indeed takes a variety of folks with different likes and dislikes to make the world go ‘round.
LORI PANKONIN is co-publisher of Johnson Publications newspapers in Imperial, Wauneta and Grant, and part-owner of the Holyoke Enterprise in Holyoke, Colo. E-mail: lori@jpipapers.com