Frugal Friday!

It's time for Frugal Friday again folks.  I wanted to share a little story with everyone today.  I admit, I am a lazy composter.  I read and read and read about it, I know it is good to do and I know how to do it.  However, I find at my home it is easier to just pile it up and let nature take it's course regardless of how long it takes.  So my pile has been sitting there for a couple of years now.  I just keep piling stuff in on top and it seemed to be just sitting there doing nothing. 

So last week my daughter decided she wanted to add some new soil to her pot of chives.  Well, I didn't have any bags of top soil around, so she went out to the compost pile, dug around and low and behold, what did she find?  Black Gold!  That's right, the whole bottom half of my compost pile has now turned to black gold, or compost.  She was so excited as she was in the same camp as my husband as far as my so called compost pile, aka, garbage pile goes.  I kept telling them it would turn to compost, but I think they were skeptical as nothing much seemed to be happening.

So this weekend I will be removing all the compost from my pile and turning what is left and adding more to it!  It is so exciting to have free compost to use.  The best thing about making your own compost is that it comes from stuff you were going to throw out anyway.  So why not put it to good use?

Speaking of composting, I have mentioned this before, but I think it bears repeating.  If you aren't into having a compost pile and don't want to buy a composter, you can use what is called the trench method.  Simply go out into your yard or garden, dig a hole or a trench, what ever you have room for, and bury your kitchen scraps in the dirt.  Just be sure to dig down deep enough that it isn't easily dug up by the critters.  Your done.  It will decompose and turn to compost and enrich the soil right where you buried it.  You don't have to do anything.  This is an excellent way to provide extra nutrients to your existing plants and trees. 

I would like to encourage everyone to try composting.  It doesn't matter if you do it actively or passively, just do it!  It keeps a lot of waste out of the landfills and is good the the soil and the vegetation growing there.  Plus, soil that is amended with compost retains moisture much better than uncomposted soil.  So there is no down side to being a composter.  Stop by our booth at the Earth Fair on May 21st to find out more about composting.