Making Compost with Your Crockpot: Winter's a Great Time to Make Good Soil for Your Spring Planting

No, this is not a whacky recipe left over from Halloween. Although winter months are "tricky" to keep up your gardening skills, it can be a "treat" to prepare for next year. Winter is a great time to make good soil for your spring planting.

If you have a compost eating dog like I do, then you have to create other ways of composting rather than just conveniently making canine tempting stack out in the garden.

For those who may not know or understand the value of composting; it is the practice of saving organic matter in a pile and letting it rot to make really great natural fertilized soil. You can use all kinds of things like; brown lettuce, onion ends, egg shells, coffee grounds, and peelings from anything. The only thing you can't put in is meat. Just using plant compost will result in virtually odorless compost. The only thing that might cause a smell would be strong smelling onions or garlic.

A long time family friend of ours, Diana, uses a crock on the counter of her kitchen to capture those natural recyclables. I then take it a step further and dump my crock pot compost into my wheel barrel in the garage. I add a scoop of earthworm filled yard dirt and a few cups of water every week. Once the composted dirt mixture no longer looks/smells appetizing to my dog, I then wheel it to the garden.

Another family friend and reader of www.PBandJAHM.com , Janet, gave us this great tip; Ask you local Starbuck's for their left over coffee grounds. Most stores will give you heaps of them for free. Coffee grounds also help keep some pests away and make excellent soil conditioner for clay soil.

Here is a link for more info on counter top composting crocks.

http://www.cataloglink.com/Compost_Crock-6657033-p!.shtml

enJOY winter composting!

© 2007 Kathy Kline Danner

become a Joy @ Home Mom

www.PBandJAHM.com