bonnemaman asked:


Is there any reason why I should not add shredded laurel leaves and twigs to my compost?

By: Chris Dailey

For those of us that live in the country that have land to actually grow an organic garden on, there is no problem when it comes to having enough light, achieving the necessary temperature, and the proper amount of humidity. If you do live in an urban area there are many alternatives which will allow you to grow organically indoors. There are also options to finding good soil and artificial light. There is even the potential to grow hydroponically, which is the growth of plants without soil. Here are a few tips on how to achieve an indoor organic garden.

One of the first things you should consider is if you have enough light in order to grow your organic garden. If you are in an enclosed area with limited space, it will be easier for you to find a light source to grow small amounts of crops. Plants need light in order to create food through the process of photosynthesis. Without enough light, the crops will not grow well. The leaves may not even completely expand under low-level light. Having plants by a window may not even be enough which may lead you to choose to buy a grow light such as an incandescent lamp or a florescent light that will allow you to break away from the necessity of growing everything near your largest window. It will also provide consistency for your small indoor crop. A simple 400 W bulb on a light mover without any natural sunlight can light a 5′ x 5′ area and can actually be enough to grow healthy organic food.

Next you should consider the amount of space that you have in your apartment or your home that you can reserve to begin growing your plants. Many people do this with herb gardens and even put them on a table. If you decide to grow in a larger area, two tables or even a tile floor could be useful as long as this area has very little traffic and can be accessible on all sides. As mentioned above, a 5′ x 5′ area would be adequate for a small garden for a small family as long as there is light and a few other things that are necessary for plant growth.

If you do live in an arid climate, and your house is well insulated, or has some form of temperature control that is at your fingertips, maintaining a temperature range around 70 degrees is best for most plants with a 10 degree variation either way. Like people, when the temperatures are too hot or cold, it can lead to damage to organic crops which can result in smaller yields. Another thing to consider is the humidity for your indoor garden and making sure that if low humidity is a problem that you have a way of misting your plants either through a hand pump or a humidifier which has an automated control.

This leads to the next part of a healthy organic garden which is having adequate soil that is properly mixed with this natural matter that will hold nutrients and moisture which will lead to a healthy indoor system. If you are familiar with organic compost, some of the best is created using composting worms which will create compost for you on a regular basis. A composter can be a very small container such as a bucket which is recycled on a regular basis. As long as you add enough material to decompose, this decomposing food will turn into free fertilizer which will be available on a regular basis. If you have room in your home, it would be a good idea to start some kind of a worm farm or at the very least find an inexpensive source of high-grade composting material to ensure a healthy soil base.

One other possibility with an indoor system is creating a hydroponics system, which basically means that you will grow your plants without soil. With a reported 50% increase in plant growth, and less of a need for space, plants grown in this modality often have less disease problems and can be easier to take care of in a smaller area especially with an indoor organic system. Many suppliers of these nutrients do both types of gardening indoors.

Some of the best plants to grow indoors whether you are growing a regular natural garden or using a hydroponics system are vegetables like kale, carrots, and beans. Herbs that grow very well are basil, lavender, and even cilantro. For a healthy appearance, you might want to even include some flowers such as roses, begonias, and even a pansy or two.

Before making this leap into the realm of indoor organic gardening, make sure you have done your homework and use the tips provided above to ensure that you have everything you need before you begin. Make sure you have enough space, proper amounts of soil and composting material, and of course the right temperature and lighting to ensure that your indoor organic system will create garden that is right for you.

By: Ellen Bell

If you have recently purchased a compost tumbler bin, let me be the first to say congratulations!  You’ve just taken the first step toward aerobic composting.  What is aerobic composting, you ask, and why is it so great?  In this article, we’ll explain how aerobic composting works and what you need to do to get started.

There are two main types of composting, aerobic and anaerobic.  Anaerobic composting basically consists of piling up a bunch of organic materials, then letting them sit and rot.  Pretty gross, huh?  Well truthfully, yes, it is.  Anaerobic bacteria are slow and inefficient, which means that your compost pile will have to sit there for at least a year, maybe longer, before the materials at the very bottom are fully composted.  Second of all, microbes that do the decaying in anaerobic composting produce methane and sulfate gasses as a byproduct, something which we humans find very offensive.  If you’ve always thought of composting as a smelly and gross process, now is the time to make an important clarification: it’s anaerobic composting that’s a smelly and gross process.

Aerobic composting is an entirely different process.  Just as the name would suggest, aerobic composting requires air, specifically oxygen, to complete its process.  Aerobic bacteria are very efficient.  They break down organic matter very rapidly, often times completing the full composting process in less than 6 weeks.  Furthermore, aerobic microbes don’t give off smelly gasses, which means that aerobic composting is a virtually odorless process!

At this point, we’re sure that you’ll agree, aerobic composting is the preferable method.  With that having been said, where do you begin?  This brings us back to the compost tumbler.  A compost tumbler bin is the best way to get started with aerobic composting.  Usually designed in a cylindrical shape, compost tumblers spin on an axis, tumbling the materials inside and providing the necessary oxygen for aerobic composting to occur.  While it is possible to construct your own compost tumbler, the process isn’t easy and you may find that you’ll save yourself a lot of time and frustration by purchasing a ready to assemble unit.  Compost tumbler bins are readily available for purchase through online and catalog stores and many can be assembled in minutes.

Once you’ve got your new compost tumbler bin set up, you’re ready to begin aerobic composting!  The first step is to add the materials to be composted.  First and foremost, it is not advisable to put any meat or dairy products (including egg yolks) into an aerobic composter unit, because these will produce foul odors as they break down, thereby defeating your goal of odor-free composting.  Vegetable peelings, old bread, cooked rice, pasta, and other similar kitchen scraps can and should be added to an aerobic compost bin.  Houseplant trimmings, lint from the dryer, floor sweepings, and pet hair are also things that can be put in a composter.  From the outdoors, there are a multitude of items that can be composted such as yard trimmings, dead leaves, grass clippings, dead flowers, etc.  Other things that can be added to your compost tumbler include pencil shavings, sawdust, chopped up hay or straw, and aquarium plants.  When you first begin using your new composter, you need to build up adequate bacteria levels to break the materials down.  To this end, it’s a good idea to add some bulking materials in the beginning, such as peat moss or already finished compost, if you have a source for getting some.

With a little time and effort, you’ll have finished compost readily available from your aerobic compost bin.  This finished compost can be tilled into your garden soil or added to the topsoil around existing plants as a fertilizer.  You’ll soon begin to see the results that compost has on a garden with bigger plants, more flowers, and larger harvests of vegetables.  So what are you waiting for?  Start composting today!

Elian R asked:


i need help, what are the advantages and disadvantages?

mandieshaw13 asked:


I’ve asked this question already, but I think I need more ideas.

Ideally I’d like this compost pile to be in the ground, I’m not trying to create fertile soil or anything, I just hate throwing biodegrable things away. So what do I do?