Composting with Kids

I have had some talk and requests about composting so I decided that today, I would talk about fun and helpful ways to start composting in your own home.

Composting can be done on a large or small scale, for whatever your needs are. You can use composts for indoor gardening/plants, plants on your deck, or a larger garden in your yard. There are many things you can add to your compost to help reduce waste and also to help your crops grow better. Kids will love to help you throw 'garbage' onto your plants such as banana peels and egg shells--things they are used to seeing being tossed out with no further use for them. This is an excellent way to teach your child about reducing waste and about plants/gardening.

An easy way to start composting is to put all of your grass clippings in a compost pile, but make sure to add "brown" material because otherwise the grass will start to stink. However, if there are pesticides on your lawn, you should not use weeds or grass from it. Do not put in fats, animal droppings, or animal products such as meat because this will make scavengers come to your compost. You can compost newspaper, plain computer paper, etc. but shred it first for faster decomposition. You can also add all of your coffee grouds which is great for attracting worms who will help your compost become richer. Put any vegetable or fruit waste such as peels, cores, etc, in your compost.

Okay, now that you know what to compost, I'll tell you a bit about how. You can start to compost in your kitchen by just keeping a special container, like a leftover yogurt or margarine container on your counter and adding in the day's waste that can be composted. This is what I do, and it does not stink. If you don't want it on your counter, you can put it under the sink. Take this compost out to a larger compost heap in your yard for it to decompose. When you have what looks like soil, dark and rich, then you have useable compost.

Please read further on how to compost from a website such as:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8100.html

http://www.marquisproject.com/composting101/howcomp.html

Also, you can read up on how composting is good for you and the environment:
http://www.region.peel.on.ca/pw/waste/compost/using/

Now for some ideas about composting with kids! Most kids will really enjoy getting there hands dirty helping with the compost and also watching it turn from garbage into useable soil that will help grow the plants that you may use in your home cooking. If your children are old enough to read, here is a link for a slideshow for children about composting:
http://sustainable.tamu.edu/slidesets/kidscompost/cover.html

Get your children involved by having them help you pick out a composter at your local hardware store. Then, you can explain how any of there garbage that was once alive (apart from meat), can put into the composter. If you want to make your own composter outdoors, take a metal garbage can and put holes around the bottom of the can. Then bury the can into the groud about a foot or more, to keep animals away. Your kids can help you if they are old enough, otherwise, let them watch and have them dump the compost into the can for you. Your compost should not stick if you have enough air flow and if it is mixed up enough. Check this kid friendly website for more advice for kids composting:
http://www.copper-tree.ca/garden/compost.html

For more information on gardening and composting with children check this website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/gardening_with_children/homegrownprojects_compost.shtml

Also, for information on composting in New Brunswick, see this information put out by the government of NB:
http://www.gnb.ca/0009/0372/0003/0001-e.asp

Good Luck with your composts! Let me know how they turn out or if there are any other topics you would like to discuss.

Rachel