Photo: istock – SylvieBouchard
If you have a compost bin in your yard, congratulations! You are helping divert waste from the landfill. And now, you can help your lawns and gardens at the same time. So as the weather heats up, here are a few earth-friendly thoughts to keep the compost love alive.
1) Spring compost bin need some work? Is it too wet? – Turn your pile, add dry (brown) material, and cover. You can also add strips of newspaper to help absorb the moisture. Is it too dry? – turn, add water (or green material), and mix thoroughly If it’s not heating up – If the pile is damp and sweet smelling but not heating up, try adding green material (nitrogen), like fruit and vegetable scraps or green grass clippings.
2) If you don’t have a compost bin, spring is a great time to start one! Contact your local garden centre or municipality to find out more. By next spring you could have your own fertilizer ready for the garden.
3) You can even compost without a back yard, with Vermicomposting systems. Worms love to eat kitchen waste, and its easier than ever to get a small bin started on your balcony, or even in your kitchen!
4) Keep your kitchen scraps happy – and smell-free!
The Sureclose Foodscrap Container really helps gather those scraps in the kitchen. It allows just the right amount of air circulation to keep the odours down in between dumpings.
5) Spring is one of the the best times to apply compost to your home garden. It can enrich soil low in nutrients or restore fertile soil. For new garden beds or lawns, some garden websites advise giving your compost-infused soil a couple of weeks to acclimate before planting. It’s important to bend the compost into the soil without damaging the microbes and worms already at work there. Maintaining an existing garden bed may require less than a quarter inch of compost. You don’t need too much of a good thing!
Find out more with these links:
Composting Council of Canada
25 Questions & Answers about Composting
Alberta Vermicomposting
