Family Project: Recycle and Renewable Composting

Many families today live on a limited, fixed budget that has to stretch to meet many needs. Learning how to recycle and reuse items is an effective way to make ends meet. One way to make the tough times easier is to bring the family together to think of ways everyone can pitch in and do their part. Starting a family project to recycle and reuse food waste for composting can be fun and help build self-esteem in children. Read through some of the ideas listed below to help your family think about ways you can stretch the dollar, be kind to the planet and have fun.

Family Project: Compost Vegetable Garden Project

Composting is the process of letting organic matter (food, in this project) decay so it can become fertilizer. Planning a family vegetable garden requires thinking about: 1.) what you are going to plant, 2.) how you are going to feed the plants and 3.) how you will take care of the plants.

Family Project: Compost Vegetable Garden Plants

Planning what vegetables will be planted in the family vegetable garden can take on many shapes and forms. Books can be read about plants and what they need to live. Family members can identify what vegetables they want to grow in the garden and then research what kinds of nutrients each vegetable will provide family members.

Each family member can also research when is the best time of year to plant their favorite vegetables, how much sunlight is required and how long they will take to mature. When all of this work has been completed, each family member can share their information and the family can develop a planting schedule to include months to plant, where to plant (sun, shade etc) and then project when the family will be eating each vegetable planted in the family garden.

Family Project: Compost Vegetable Garden Fertilizer (Composting)

Feeding plants is more than watering them. For plants to produce healthy produce, they need to have the right soil and fertilizer. In this project the family is going to make its own fertilizer by collecting food waste and letting it decay to be fertilizer. It might be a good idea to start off with everyone learning about composting and ways to do compost throughout the year. Composting videos can be watched and discussed by family members. The family can then define where they are going to put their compost pile (pile of food waste).

One idea is to designate a corner of the garden as the receptacle for food wastes. Compost is easier to spread when you do not have to haul it from across the yard. You also need to decide how food wastes are going to be collected in the house before taken to the compost pile. Some families place a large plastic bowl near the sink in the kitchen for this. All excess food and food waste (egg shells, peels etc.) that is not eaten is placed in the bowl and each family member takes turns depositing it on the compost pile at the end of the day.

Family Project: Compost Vegetable Garden Planting

When it is time to plant the vegetable garden, each family member is responsible for planting the vegetables they selected. This can be done by planting seeds or by planting seedlings. An ambitious family might want to collect seeds from the vegetables they grew the previous year and use these to plant in their garden. Some may want to start seedlings in the house before the growing season and transplant these when the timing it right. Using your own seeds saves money and provides a way to have a sustainable garden.

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