Resolution #4 -- Compost

Sounds easy, right? Not always.

The behavior modification required to save our compostable items dictated that the composter we chose would have to be easy to install and use because all of our energy would have to be funneled into learning how to and remembering to compost.

JP searched high and low for the right one that would be simple, easy to use, would fit in our back yard , and would be easy to operate for any of the Furbers charged with putting out the compost. And one of us is six years old, so I’m talking really easy. JP combed the market for the best composter that met our criteria. Little did we know, that our constraints of space, time and mental bandwidth were not the only things we needed to take into consideration. We also…

…had to estimate how much compostable material our family unit produce, and how would we use the fruits of our labor in our limited suburban landscape. This decision helped determine the size of compost bin(s) we would need.

…learned that it is best to have one complete batch cooking at a time. For rookies like us, an important question arose: what do you then do with what is accumulating? For serious composting efforts one needs a serious composter with two chambers. A two chamber composter allows for one batch to cook while compostable waste accumulates in the other. The other option is to have two separate compost bins. In the end, we chose to purchase just one single chamber compost bin to get us started, knowing we can always add another one later.

…learned that there is a lot to learn about composting. Ratios of Green (1/3) to Brown (2/3) ingredients are critical for success. Adding fresh topsoil to the compost helps, along with some “red” worms is a definite plus to speed the process. That trail led to the question of where one acquires red worms: is it too much to hope that they can be purchased at the same place we buy our crickets for Jack’s Australian tree frog? Turns out mail order is the best place to buy them. We got ours from Sonoma Valley Worms. Ask for the red wigglers.

…learned that location in our yard is an important consideration. Our summer-time temperatures often exceed 100 degrees. Direct sunlight will be too warm for our composter. In winter, we may have the opposite problem. Our cooler weather may not create enough heat to effectively compost quickly enough to keep up with our household compost waste.

We eventually narrowed our search down to the Compost Wizard 12 Cubic Ft Tumbler, and the Ecomposter because they were small, and easy to install and use, and both products had great reviews.

Our final purchase was the Compost Wizard, which is now installed in our backyard and cooking our compost as I write this. The research paid off, and so far were happy with our purchase. The Compost Wizard arrived fully assembled with minimal packaging. It is made from recycled polyethylene plastic. It sits low to the ground, on a rotating platform that even our six year old Katie can rotate it weekly.

Time will tell how good our compost is. Our mild January weather is not ideal for cooking compost! More on the results later…….

Once the compost bin was installed, we realized we had another challenge: unless we wanted to walk to the backyard with every apple core and banana peel, we needed a container in the kitchen to collect scraps until we were ready to make a trip to the composter. There are many fancy and beautiful compost crocks on the market from which to choose. However, because we fundamentally believe that the most green thing of all is not to create anything new, we decided to repurpose a vintage enamel bread bin that had previously held snacks in our pantry. A little household odor absorber from Gaiam attached to the lid eliminates any stinkiness, and problem solved.

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