I Will Compost

Growing up, my Grandmother was (and still is, really) the MOTHER of THE friggin EARTH! She still lives in the little two story (if you include the basement) yellow house on a corner, at the bottom of a hill in a well-established neighborhood in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Her garden was always bigger than my backyard alone. I remember spending hours outside with a big lime green 1970's Tupperware bowl picking berries, cherries (until the cherry tree had to get chopped), tomatoes and yummy zucchini. It was so much fun! The window over her kitchen sink faced the back garden; I remember how the sun reflected off of her face as she'd gaze peacefully out it. She always had a bucket or two on her counter for compost. Growing up, I never knew what compost was, I just knew that their was forever a huge pile of randomness behind the shed made of chicken wire that we'd help heap into the garden on the few occasions we were there for spring planting.

Over the past few days, feeding all the animals, I've realized how much I really do waste. (two lizards, one guinea pig, Manny's hamster, three mice, and a tank full of feeder crickets). I seem to always complain about NOT having a garden in my little 12x15 backyard because the soil is so useless. I have lived in this apartment for the past three summers. the first summer I planted all kinds of goodness, most of it died by the end of month two. Apparently, somebody dumped oil in the backyard, along with some sort of grass/ weed killer. The second summer I didn't do much because Cierra and I both had surgery. I laid yummy flagstone and completely scraped the top layer of dirt off, replacing it with manure. This summer, I kept it clean ran a soil-test again, AND it STILL has a super high PH. I dug it under with more manure, and an ammonium sulphate mixture. I covered that with thick cedar shavings and called it a summer. :o(

Well, earlier this week, the light finally went off-DUH! Why aren't you composting Jen? So today, I started researching compost tumblers and compost barrels, they are kinda pricey and take up a lot of room, remember, my backyard is TINY! I am just gonna buy 6 dollar, 5ft. twine of chicken wire and do it like my Grandmother did for years! (She upgraded to a fancy schmancy tumbler about 8 years ago).

I've been collecting all the vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and shredded newspaper in a holed Rubbermaid container for a few days now.. it is getting full. I will compost...THAT is my contribution to the environment (even though it has it's roots in my want and need for a bea-u-ti-mous garden of my own)!