Compost bag inside home - How to have an attractive place to store items for the compost pile.

For the longest time we have thrown our kitchen scraps into an old grocery plastic bag in the smaller side of the sink. Not only did this not look that great, but it brought with it some bad smells during times when we didn't take it out as fast as we should have. Having this bag of compost material waiting to be taken to the large outdoor compost pile also made a stain around the chrome drain ring which was hard to remove.

Easy fix! Check it out...it was more  simple than I ever thought :)

My old way to save organic waste headed for the compost pile outside.

Now this way is much better!!!

A 5 gallon bucket with a plastic grocery sack inside allows us to throw in any organic type of kitchen scrap that will soon be in the large outdoor compost pile. I try and take out the organic kitchen waste to the compost pile outside at least once a week. I take the entire plastic bag to the compost pile and empty out the organic contents then throw the plastic bag into the recycle trash can.

The 5 gallon compost bucket fits nicely under the sink on one side with just enough room to have a roll of paper towels handy. This indoor compost storage bucket is now out of sight and we have use of both sides of the sink again :)

Pumkins growing from seeds in compost pile

I uncovered the compost pile today by removing a thin layer of newspaper from the top. Just before I was going to turn the pile to get some oxygen into the organic ingredients, I noticed something really cool! It looked as it something had sprouted from within the compost pile. At first glance it  looked like it was a sun flower, however, I now think it is pumpkins we thew in the compost pile after Halloween. The roots were all the way from the bottom of the pile and I kept finding  more and more seeds sprouting as I dug into the compost pile. I thought this was so interesting and cool! These seeds had grown from within our compost pile! Covered by almost 2 feet of organic material, these seeds sprouted and grew through the maze of produce and yard waste and were just about to find away past the top layer of newspaper. I suppose that says something about the quality of good compost :)

Notice the two seeds near the middle left.

Two more seeds that have sprouted.

Just for fun I pulled some out of the compost pile and decided to see if they would grow in a container below the compost pile.

Hose holder for compost pile

 Here is a cool thing I made the other day while turning the compost pile. It's always a task to try and turn the heavy compost pile while at the same time trying to wet down the material. I found a extra 1.5" bracket and a screw and decided to screw just one end of the bracket into the wood arbor over the compost pile. It was quite simple and now I am able to turn the hose on, hang the hose on this bracket and have it spray gently over the pile while I turn it. So far it has been a real time saver! 

Pine needles for the compost bin

Found someone bagging up pine needles and had to ask for a few bags for our compost pile. I'm not really sure what they will add to the compost pile except a little diversity of plant/tree life. I want to try and have a wide range of yard waste in the compost pile and if possible I want them from  different areas around our area.

Compost pile update for first part of August

The compost pile is growing bigger with each passing day. I can't belive how much we were throwing away before building our compost pile!

This picture shows the alfalfa hay we threw on the top. To date we have thrown in everything from newspapers, junk mail (not the shiny paper or envolopes), egg cartons, veggies, egg shells, grass, mesquite leaves...you name it and I bet I have some of it in my compost pile, lol.

We give the pile a good soak with the hose about 2-3 times a day now that it's been 105+ all the time. I turn the pile about once a week when I remember to, lol! It's so cool to see how everything is turning into a rich soil. The best part is that there is absolutley zero bad smell! This gardening thing is pretty great :)

- A side note on the alfalfa hay and straw; eventhough I had mentioned how horrible the alfalfa tea smell was, I must report the not long after I had poured someon my myers lemon did nearly 10 brand new flowers grew and opend up for the bee's!...coincidence? You deciede :) but I think I'll try it again, maybe lol.

Straw for the garden and compost pile

Picked up 2 bales of straw the other day to use around the garden, yard & compost pile. The smell of the straw is so fresh! Plus it adds a nice look to yard, and should help keep the compost pile more damp.

Getting closer to adding some soil to our gardens. It has been so hot lately that we haven't wanted to go outside very much, which is why the long wait on soil.

We have read a nice way to start the garden soil off right, which will include some other items I'll list shortly. One is newspaper, about 1/2" thick across the garden floor covering some soft phosphate. I'll explain later...

The compost pile is getting filled up

A quick photo of our compost pile from yesterday.

I have added some rich bagged compost, about two handfulls, to help speed up the composting process and plan to add some bonemeal to the pile as well.

You can see that just about everything we don't eat goes right into the pile for compost! There are onions, tomatoes, avocados, lettuce, peppers and I even throw in cardboard and other paper products thinking that if they are made form paper they should compost well...Any thoughts?