Thursday, March 13, 2008
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Felicia Alvarado’s homemade mulch.
For many, spring signals the beginning of yard and gardening season. If you tend your own garden, or simply need to pot some plants, creating your own mulch is an easy and environmentally friendly practice. Felicia Alvarado, Salina sophomore, began composting because it’s one more way to recycle. “I hope to use it for a herb garden,” says Alvarado. Composting gives new life to kitchen and yard waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average household produces more than 200 pounds of kitchen waste every year—all of which can be composted. Yard trimmings combined with kitchen wastes comprise 24 percent of all solid waste sent to landfills in the U.S. That’s a lot of waste that it could be reused as compost.
Compost is one of nature’s best mulches. You can use it instead of commercial fertilizers. Best of all, compost is cheap. You can make it without spending a dime. Making your own composter is quick and easy. First, decide on the scale of your composting operation. The more kitchen and yard waste you plan on turning into mulch, the larger your composter will need to be. Making a small-scale composter is simple. Start by drilling holes in the bottom of a plastic storage container to allow for aeration, then add soil and water along with your waste to get things started. Place your composter in an area of your lawn that is exposed to sunlight and is well drained. Make sure to keep the top on—this helps retain moisture and speeds up the decomposition process. Shaking up the contents of your composter every few weeks will also speed things up. Hint: If you plan to add kitchen scraps, keep it accessible to the back door so you’ll actually use it.
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