Name: Bruce
City: Mountain View
Why did you start composting?: We bid on an Earth Machine composter at a silent auction fundraiser.
How do you fit composting into your busy day?: We have an attractive red ceramic container (about 1/2 gallon) sitting on the kitchen counter. Our 2-person household fills this 2-3 times/week.
What did you have to overcome to start composting, what kept you from starting sooner?: There weren’t many good spots in our yard for the composter.
What problems have you had to overcome to maintain your compost?: I had to lay down metal screening around the base to keep critters from tunneling into the compost
What’s a funny story about your compost?: Apparently tomato seeds aren’t sterilized in our composter. We had dozens of volunteer tomatoes in the spot where I spread the compost this spring.
What do you like best about composting?: The consciousness raising aspect of realizing that you can’t really throw anything away. There is no “away.”
What do you like least about composting?: The time required.
For how long have you been composting?: 2 years
Do you have a compost bin or a worm bin or both?: Compost bin
How often to do you add kitchen scraps and other material to your compost bin/pile?: 3 times per week
What do you put in your compost?: All kitchen scraps and stale food except meat and milk-based products, plus leaves.
What do you not put in your compost and why not?:
What do you do with the product of your compost?: I’ve used it to amend our garden, but we don’t generate as much compost as we use
How much time per week to you spend maintaining your compost?: 10 minutes
Do you have compost questions with which you would like help?: I’d like to know what the “avoided carbon footprint” is of composting 1 pound/week of food scraps.