Composting

Last Saturday, the hubby and I dropped our dear son off at nana's house, and made our way to our county's extension service. Let me back up and explain a little. One day I was bored and a little on the "going green" crazy side, so I googled a bunch of ways to go green and cut back on my carbon footprint and my energy bill. One of the things my power company's website suggested was a link to county extensions. I clicked on the link and explored all the things it offered. They have many classes that cover everything from bird watching to rain barrels. I signed up for the rain barrel class and the composting class.

So, fast forward to the class last Saturday. It was taught by a master gardener (what do you have to do to get that title??) from the University of Florida's gardening unit. He went over the basic principals of composting, what it is, what the benefits are, and how to make it happen in your back yard.

I must say, I am still a little intimidated by it. We got a free compost bin at the end of the class, and it is still sitting in Chris' car. It seems like such a delicate mixture of browns and greens (nitrogens and carbons) and heat vs. cold (at least 120*, no more than 140*), and I don't want to end up with a stinky bin in my backyard that does nothing but attract animals. I would love to do something productive with all my kitchen rubbish, and the grass clippings (that we seem to get weekly now that the grass is growing again). And I would love to have a fantastic soil amendment to plant my fall crops in.

I will get off my butt and start it next week I think. Until then, wish me luck!