Overview
Composting allows gardeners to turn inedible fruits and vegetable scraps into organic garden fertilizer. Many food items that are frequently thrown away can be composted, reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills while producing something that's useful.
Fruit Scraps Can be Composted
image by "fruit" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: theogeo (Lindsey T) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
Types of Compostable Materials
As you cook, set aside scraps for the compost bin. Vegetable peelings, fruit cores and peels, egg shells, teabags, coffee grounds and grain-based items like breads and cereals can all be composted.
Newspapers, paperboard, and scrap paper (if undyed and non-glossy) can also be shredded and composted.
Function of Compost
When decomposed, these materials slowly turn into compost. Compost is a natural, organically based fertilizer. Starting a home compost bin will allow you to fertilize your garden organically for free.
Considerations
Always keep an eye out for things you can compost. Many items that are frequently thrown away, like cardboard boxes and banana peels, can be added to a compost pile and kept out of the trash. Consider setting aside a small kitchen container to keep these scraps until you're ready to add them to your outside compost bin.
Time Frame
Composting is a slow process; it may take six months to a year for your compost to be ready to use. That's why many people keep two bins, one for older compost that's in the process of maturing, another to add their daily compost scraps to. If you do that, you'll rarely be without usable compost.
About this Author
Sandi Valentine is a freelance writer who specializes in alternative health and mental-health topics. She has over five years of professional experience working in a psychiatric hospital. Valentine began writing online in 2007 and her writing has appeared in "The Main ARTery" and "In the Panhandle." She holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Shepherd University.
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