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Weird stuff you can compost

Make your own compost with weird stuff.
Composting is beneficial to your garden and there are some odd
things to compost around the house. Composting is not only a
way to "go green" and save the environment, but it will also save
you money on fertilizers. If you do things properly, it's very
healthy for your plants and you!

There are a lot of weird composting materials you can use for your
composting project. Below is a list of foods you can compost and
strange things that are not food, too.

Weird stuff you can compost!
What can you compost? You'd be surprised to learn of the weird
things. Coffee grounds, eggshells, and orange peels are among
prepper favorites for composting, but what about the contents of
your vacuum bag, cotton balls, or hair? Find out in the list below...

Here's a weird list of fodder for the prepper's compost bin:
  1. aquarium tank water
  2. can waters and juice (the stuff you strain)
  3. cardboard from cereal, crackers, ice cream containers, pizza
    boxes ~ you name it (as long as it is unwaxed).
  4. chewing gum
  5. Chicken manure (it's  an excellent compost activator)
  6. coffee filters - use them at the bottom of your composting
    pot to help keep your composting bin a little more clean.
  7. cotton balls (Q-tips if you get rid of the plastic). Yes, those
    cotton rounds are very compostable.
  8. dust bunnies and dryer lint
  9. dog and cat hair ~ the stuff you swiffer up
  10. dust bunnies
  11. hair from your hairbrushes, electric razor trimmings
  12. facial tissues ~ yes, the used ones!
  13. flowers from Valentines day (or any special occasion)
  14. freezer burned fruits and veggies
  15. junk mail (shredded minus any plastic envelopes)
  16. old spices (they loose flavor)
  17. olive pits
  18. leftover poporn kernels
  19. matches ~ after they are lit and used
  20. natural nail clippings (polish-free)
  21. nut shells
  22. paper towels and the cardboard rolls
  23. paper grocery bags (be sure to shred them)
  24. pencil shavings
  25. sawdust (raw wood without stain, paint or pressure
    treatment)
  26. seashells
  27. seaweed and kelp (both are rich in trace minerals)
  28. tea bags made of natural materials
  29. toothpicks and bamboo skewers
  30. toilet paper rolls
  31. wine corks (provided they are real cork and not the artificial
    stuff).
  32. wood ash ~ ideal for composting.

Things you already knew you could compost:
There are lots of foods you can compost:
  • banana peels
  • citrus peels
  • carrot peels
  • corn husks
  • corn cobbs
  • coffee grounds
  • egg shells (be sure to crush them)
  • fruit and veggie scraps from your meal
  • grass clippings
  • newspapers
  • onion skins
  • pine needles
  • pea pods
  • potato peels
  • pumpkins carved from Halloween
  • trimmings from house plants
  • straw and hay

Stuff you should never compost
What not to put in your compost pile? Below is a list of stuff you
should never compost:
  • bread, crackers, pasta, rice (they will bring pests)
  • cooked rice (harbors bacteria)
  • uncooked rice (bad for the birds)
  • dead houseplants (they could have disease bearing bacteria
    or fungal matter)
  • dryer lint ~ it's not a good idea to compost dryer lint
    because the cotton will be mixed with synthetic products
  • milk products (they attract pests)
  • sawdust (the only exception is untreated wood)
  • condoms, diapers, tampons and menstrual pads (they are a
    health risk and contain plastics)
  • vacuum bag gunk (likely it contains synthetic materials)

Why should preppers compost?
Now that you know what to put in your Get your compost pile
going! There are three main reasons to get started in composting:

#1: Composting is good for the environment.
When you decide to compost you're taking a stand against
chemical fertilizers. These fertilizers artificially add nitrogen,
phosphorous, and potassium. Made up of raw chemicals from the
factory, sometimes chemical fertilizers burn plants or even kill
them. Chemical fertilizers also release gas and pollutants into the
environment. If everyone composted, we'd not need to worry
about this.

#2: Composting reduces landfill waste.
Did you know that about a third of landfill waste is stuff that you
could have composted? In recycling kitchen and yard waste, you
divert from the landfills and put it to good use.

#3: Composting is good for your plants.
It may seem obvious that composting conditions your soil with
nutrients, but this also helps retain moisture in the soil which is
vital for plant health. Composting also helps ward off plant
disease with rich aerated soil thanks to the handiwork of
microorganisms. It's nature's circle of life working in your own
backyard.

How to get your compost pile going:
Now that you're on board to the benefits of composting, check out
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How to Compost
Composting is an easy prep and here's how to do it:

Step one: Think of composting beyond food waste.
Composting is the natural way to recycle, so start with food
waste, discarded greens, fruit and vegetable peels, eggshells,
and coffee grounds, then head on out for grass clippings,
decomposing fruits from your trees, and even paper. (Shred your
paper before dumping it in the compost.)

These are bulking agents to accelerate the breakdown of organic
materials through a sort of curing process. Other good bulking
agents include wood chips, leaves or straw.  Be sure to limit the
layer of shredded paper, wood chips, leaves or straw to no more
than two inches or you will may a layer that's impermeable to air.

  • NOTE: avoiding composting with meats, dairy and oil which
    will attract rats. The bulking agents will also help to mask
    the odoriferous foods.

Step two: Start your compost pile.
Find a convenient spot that's well shaded and will drain well.

  • All Seasons Bokashi Compost Starter and Soil Innoculant,
    pictured at the bottom of the page, is made by fermenting
    wheat bran with molasses and SCD Probiotics. Bokashi is a
    Japanese word that means "fermented organic matter."
    Bokashi promotes germination, flowering, fruiting and
    ripening in plants.

Step three: Keep your compost moist.
Let it rain on top of your compost or add water. Make sure the
bulking agents you've selected in step one don't mat down. The
idea is to keep the compost moist, but not to trap the moisture.

Step four: Turn the compost pile.
Use a shovel or try a composting bin that rotates. The rotation
process adds much needed oxygen.  This is the most important
step in composting. The more you turn the faster your composting
will mature. It could mature as quickly as one month or three
months or if you let nature take its natural course, it could be
more than a half a year. To every season turn, turn, turn!

Step five: Speed your composing by adding worms to
your compost
.
Technically, it's not necessary to add the worms to your
composting as the worms will find their way to your compost pile
naturally. Also, composting will occur naturally without the
worms; however, worms will make

  • Composting Tip: Worms thrive when you sprinkle your used
    coffee grounds! Layer the coffee grounds at the bottom of
    your composting pile to make your pile attractive to worms.

Worm farms and worm composting:

  • Worm farming. Uncle Jim's Worm Farm, pictured immediate
    upper left-hand corner of the page, will help you improve
    your soil structure. Red Worms are nature's wonder workers.
    Add some composting worms to your garden or composting
    pile and reap the best organic soil available without any
    harmful chemicals or fertilizers. Healthy soil equates to a
    garden of plentiful fruits and veggies.  Trout and pan
    fishermen see excellent results using them as well.


  • Bosmere composting bin: Made from 100 percent re-cycled
    materials, the Bosmere compost bin, pictured immediate
    right, is an efficient composter for yard waste and plant
    source kitchen waste. Vented for oxygenation throughout,
    this bin provides access panels for harvesting composted
    material. It has an 11 cubic feet capacity.

  • Forest City Tumbling Composter. For a quick compost
    turnaround, look to the Forest City Tumbling Composter with
    two chambers, pictured right. This compositing bin's efficient
    dual-chamber design allows for quick curing, turning your
    kitchen and yard waste into food for your soil. Fill it up, give
    it a turn every other day with the built-in hand holds, and in
    a fortnight you'll have a hefty, nourishing batch of compost
    for your garden.

  • Nature's Head Composting Toilet. When SHTF, you can do
    something with it! The Nature's Head Composting Toilet,
    pictured immediate right is a reliable choice for portable, self
    contained, urine separating dry toilets on the water, on the
    land, or on the road." "This toilet or head, (the marine term
    for toilet) was designed by two long time sailors who sought
    to create a more user friendly version than anything else on
    the market. While we designed our product to withstand the
    harsh marine environment, it can be used anywhere you need
    a toilet, especially anywhere that plumbing or electricity is
    difficult or non-existent -- on RVs or campers, in vacation
    cabins, workshops, barns, yurts, even trucks.

    Most importantly, this toilet doesn't have the foul odors
    associated with all other holding tank systems. The low
    volume air circulation fan built into the head provides the
    added benefit of recycling the air in your bathroom which
    helps make your whole environment smell better. Because it
    was originally designed for marine use, its rugged design and
    materials (all stainless hardware) it has been proven to be
    extremely durable no matter what your environment.

  • The Composting Toilet System. Learn more about
    composting human waste with a composting toilet system! A
    composting toilet is self-contained and waterless toilet that
    uses peat moss in the base for  composting matter. There is
    no holding tank and no pump-outs. From systems for
    cottages to year-round systems with micro-flush toilets and
    gray water gardens, the wide range of ecological recycling
    toilet options, and great books to help you choose, install
    and maintain them. Install a system that meets state codes
    and learn more now.