The autumn leaves will soon be falling. And as if chasing them around the yard with a rake and a bag weren`t enough, legal restrictions have already banned yard wastes from many municipal landfills, so this may be the year you will have to change some long-held habits: no more plastic sacks filled with leaves and other garden debris out there on the curb.
Within the next few years most of the nation`s gardeners will be recycling and composting in their back yards-at least that`s what a lot of people would like to see happen.
Realistically, commercial enterprises will crop up, offering to haul your bagged yard waste away for a nominal fee, just as in the ”good old days.”
These companies will then compost your garden`s waste out in the country somewhere and sell it back to you in the form of rich, dark, aromatic compost, the very best thing you can add to your shrub, flower and vegetable beds. Though this is a strange case of ”robbing Peter to sell back to Paul,”
undoubtedly many people will choose this option rather than become involved in recycling at home. Too bad.
It`s only human to be reluctant to change, but this is a change so beneficial for everyone and everything involved that all homeowners should think twice about it. Your yard is a microcosm of the environment at large. To recycle trash and waste right there on the property that produced it seems somehow right.
When you think about it, it`s been only a couple of generations since we stopped burying all our household garbage in our back yards. Galvanized garbage cans and heavy-duty, large plastic bags are relatively recent introductions. I`m sure there was a hue and cry back then too: ”They want me to do what? Put all my garbage in that itty-bitty can and leave it there for a week so every dog and cat in the neighborhood can get into it? They`ve got to be crazy!”
Once again conditions have forced another generation of change: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that a third of the nation`s landfills will be filled by 1995, so recycling is an activity whose time has come.
The good news is that manufacturers have been developing products to make this next step in waste management as easy and painless as possible.
A big part of most people`s refusal to recycle or compost at home is the result of simply not having a convenient, workable place to do it. The important thing is to define a spot specifically for recycling and composting. Where the recycling center should be placed is, of course, up to you. But don`t fail to consider side yards or the far end of a large or deep lot, in which case you could turn it around, leaving a walkway behind it, with its best face looking toward the house.
With a little care in the design, construction and planting departments, the recycling center could be a visual asset to your landscape, an ”eye-catcher.”
You might even want to place a bench up against the front of it and provide yourself with a nice protected spot to sit and survey your lovely garden.
I bet I know what just went through your mind: ”Why would anyone want to sit next to that smelly old compost pile?” To which I would respond: ”If it`s done right, your compost pile won`t smell any more than any other part of your garden.” In fact, when it is done, your compost will have that wonderful, good-earth fragrance. Here are a few tips:
– Most first attempts at making compost fail because the material in the center of the pile didn`t reach a high enough temperature (somewhere around 140 degrees).
– In order to reach the right temperature to actively break down the ingredients in the pile, three things must be present (in addition to the waste material you are composting): air, moisture and nitrogen.
– Provide sufficient air space by shredding or chipping the material before putting it on the pile. It also helps if air can reach the bottom of the pile. This can be accomplished by using a piece of screen, raised a couple of inches off the ground or by making an open arrangement of bricks the base for your compost pile.
– To keep it from getting too wet, it helps if your pile is covered. Ideally, it should be about as damp as a squeezed-out sponge at all times.
– Provide the nitrogen that the microorganisms need (they`re the good guys who do the work of breaking down the waste) with blood meal, manure or inorganic fertilizer. Other good options are the products specifically made to speed decomposition, sold as ”compost boosters” or ”compost makers.”
– Don`t put too thick a layer of grass clippings on the pile at one time. Either mix them into the pile, or mix some other drier material (such as leaves or chipped branches or twigs) into the clippings before adding to the pile. Too thick a layer of clippings quickly becomes a soggy, smelly mess. Used in the right ratio, they`re an essential element in an actively decomposing compost pile. Don`t forget that recent research suggests that leaving the clippings on the lawn (provided they are not too long) does much more good than harm.
– Your compost is done when it has cooled down and when you notice earthworms meandering about. This should take two to three months, longer in cooler weather.
Use your finished compost as a soil amendment, for mixing into the soil, or as a mulch, placed in a 1- to 2-inch layer on top of the soil. Either way, it`s one of the best things you can do for the health of your plants-and for the health of your planet.
There are a number of environmentally responsible companies manufacturing useful products for home garden use.
The granddaddy of them all is the Ringer Corp. in Eden Prairie, Minn. Its catalog is an excellent source of environmentally sound garden and home products, including an economical, yet practical compost bin, made from recycled plastic. Developed by the founder`s son, Rob Ringer, the Yard Guard holds 12 bushels of yard waste, has a top and can be secured to the ground with metal stakes. Call toll-free for catalog or local retail outlets:
800-654-1047.
The Solutions catalog contains an excellent recycling aid in its three-bin Recycling Center. The stand holds three 13-gallon, reusable trash bags for aluminum, plastic and glass. For more information, call toll-free:
800-342-9988.
Chipper/shredders are an important tool in back-yard recycling. The best machines are built to last, have safety certification and are, understandably, expensive. Why not consider going in with a neighbor or two and sharing the cost of a quality machine?
