How to EASILY collect kitchen scraps for compost
Flea Market Gardeners are recyclers indoors as well as out!
Composting can be done on a small scale right on your kitchen counter where it’s handy to toss eggshells and veggie trimmings.
Compostables are organic materials that will naturally decompose quickly and can be used for enhancing and conditioning soil. These materials include fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds and teabags.
Collecting and storing compostables on the kitchen counter may not sound like the most desirable way to go, but for the gardener the motivation is there to way a convenient way to keep them handy. Commercial compost buckets of stainless steel are expensive, so why not try one of these ideas?
Ice buckets are one great idea of an attractive sealed container and can usually be found at thrift stores.
Folgers can,…perfect size and lid
Two pound plastic coffee cans containers are tightly sealed, have a hand hold and are washable.
Larger versions would be kitty litter or laundry soap containers.
Results of kitchen composting…lovely, free compost is the reward
Reusable plastic containers can always be used or even Rachel Ray’s method of collecting scraps in a bowl can be done if your compost pile is nearby to your kitchen door. Tossing out the days kitchen scraps every night after dinner can give you a nice meditative look at the starry sky or at least give you a chance to empty the rain gauge.
Do place the following in your compost container:
- Cardboard rolls
- Clean paper
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Cotton rags
- Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
- Eggshells
- Fruits and vegetables
- Hair and fur
- Houseplants
- Nut shells
- Shredded newspaper
- Tea bags
- Wool rags
All vegetable trimmings, coffee grounds, eggshells and other kitchen scraps can be collected odor free!
Do not place the following in your compost container:
- Plastic
- Fats, grease, lard, or oils
- Styrofoam
- Dairy products
- Diapers
- Meat or fish bones and scraps
- Pet waste/litter
- Dirt, sod, rock
- Metals
When your kitchen counter compost can is full, toss the contents into the compost pile and cover with clippings to prevent odors. Turn the entire pile once eery month or so. Sprinkle with a hose for a few minutes to keep the pile moist as a wrung out kitchen sponge. That will keep it ‘cooking.’ Once you discover the lovely dark and rich compost forming at the bottom, you’ll be sold on composting!
Compost piles should be at least 3′ high
For more ideas on what to compost, in fact 163 ideas, see this! 163 Things You Can Compost
Whatever you use, get composting! It will provide free fertilizer for your plants and be admirably green.
Oops!
No room for a compost pile? Try sheet composting. It’s simply digging a little deeper and placing the food scraps, news print, leaves and yard waste in layers. This breaks down overtime underneath the soil and supplies compost for the garden as needed. It’s great for container and small space gardening.