Compost Living in Denver

Denverites are all about healthy living, so if you are moving to the area, local moving companies want to let you in on all of the local green living initiatives and trends. This particular old farmer’s tradition is coming back into style, especially for those who live in Denver, since a lot of people own large pieces of land or even livestock. Composting. Composting food was an old technique of being able to get rid of food scraps, in a natural way, and now it’s making a comeback. So if you are moving to Denver…ditch the plastic trash bags and get to composting, with one of these composting techniques!

1) Livestock. One of the most natural ways to get rid of your food is to use it as feed for livestock. Farm animals love vegetables and fruits so those are perfect to give to them; however, make sure that you research which foods you can and cannot feed to the specific types of animals that you have at home. You do not have to have goats, pigs, and horses to feed your leftovers to animals either; if you have pets like dogs and cats, you can feed them certain leftovers as well, but again, do your research first or check with your veterinarian to make sure that it is okay.

2) Worm Bin: A worm bin is perfect for composting things that you would not want to feed to animals, such as: coffee grinds, egg shells, or raw meat trimmings. If you do put meat trimmings into your worm bin, make sure that you cut them into tiny pieces first. Worms will eat these items that you otherwise would not want livestock to consume, enriching the worms’ diets so that they can be added to gardens if you so choose.

3) Open Compost Pile: You can create an open compost pile in your backyard, by digging a hole and placing your compostable scraps there. They can provide nutrients to the soil and feed insects, making them healthy for your plants. Open Compost Piles are much like Trench Composts, too. However, if you get small rodents that lurk in your yard at night, make sure that you are not putting harmful items such as raw meat, into your open compost pile. Since Denver is filled with frequent outdoor animals, you also might want to make sure that you create your open compost pile a little farther away from your home, so that your nighttime visitors do not get too close.

If you do decide to compost your kitchen scraps, there are some things that you should know about composting, how it works, and its benefits. Composting can make your garden flourish! It makes soil rich and professional gardeners rave that it is magical for plant life and growth.

The best compost mixture is one that combines nitrogen-filled waste with carbon-rich waste. If you are unsure what scraps are which: nitrogen-filled waste are Green leaves, vegetables, grass, and houseplants; carbon-rich wastes are typically brown: straw, wood shavings, toilet paper rolls, cardboard, and newspaper. The combination of these two, along with water and the more obvious, air, is everything that your garden needs to thrive.

How composting works: microbial decomposers are decomposers that you will be able to see working hard on your compost pile; while bacteria in your compost you will not be able to see. Bacteria will make up 90 percent of your decomposers. After the microbial and bacteria are almost done breaking down your pile, fungi will join in for the tougher materials.

Now that All My Sons has taught you everything you need to know about composting, your green-living in Denver should be much more successful!