I’m not your typical New Yorker.
I apologize when I bump into peopleor when they bump into me.
I think pedicures are silly.
Most radical, I live in an apartment with a backyard, a luxury in space-cramped Manhattan.
My science-experiment-loving inner child couldn’t wait to turn salad greens into dirt.
For one thing, I grew up in eco-minded Eugene, Oregon, known for its tree huggers.
But several months of carrying carrot peelings wore on me, convictions or no.
So when I saw a flyer touting free composting workshops, I signed up.
I worried that my composting project might spur cockroachesor worse, ratsto settle in my backyard.
“Not only will you reduce the trash stream, but you’ll also improve air and soil quality.
It has a domino effect.”
I left jazzed by the chance to do some good.
I enlisted my fiance in our first task: ripping The New York Times business section to shreds.
About six months in, I noticed espresso-colored soil beneath the scraps; it was time to harvest.
I laid out a tarp and emptied the bin’s contents.
Among the newspaper clippings and corn cobs was the brown stuff no longer recognizable as paper and vegetablespay dirt!
Buy a bin studded with holes (check out Composters.com for options).
Fill bin 3/4 full with leaves or newspaper.
Add enough water so it resembles a damp sponge.
Toss in scraps (avoid meat, dairy and oil).
Top with a 3-inch layer of newspaper or leaves.
Cover with a new 3-inch top layer of newspaper or leaves each time you add scraps to bin.
Stir pile monthly, replacing top layer.
After about six months, compost forms at bottom.
Return scraps to bin and re-cover.
Place compost at base of plants as fertilizer.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of subject
