Compost is made up of organic material that’s added to soil providing nutrients to help plants grow. Composting is not only good for plants, it also helps reduce your carbon footprint which is so important to many of us today. 

Kitchen food scraps and yard waste, experts say, make up more than 30 percent of consumer home waste which could be composted instead. Composting prevents these materials from going into landfills and releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Composting benefits list also include creating an enriching soil, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers, encouraging the production of beneficial bacteria and empowers the home cook or gardener to reduce food waste through recycling materials. 

Composting is easy, takes little time and can be done with simple materials in your home. There are three types of compost categories; browns, greens, and water and an ideal compost pile should have an equal amount of browns to greens. The brown materials provide carbon for your compost and include materials such as; dead leaves, branches, and twigs, the green materials provide nitrogen and include grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds, and the water provides moisture to help break down the organic matter and develop the compost. 

Helpful tips on items you can compost:

• Fruits and vegetables, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, nut shells, shredded newspaper, paper, yard & grass trimmings, hay & straw, leaves & sawdust. 

Helpful tips on items not to compost: (avoid attracting pests & flies)

• Dairy products 
• Meat or fish bones and scraps
• Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides

How to start backyard composting:

• Select a dry, shady spot near a water source for your compost pile or bin.

• Add brown and green materials as they are collected, making sure larger pieces are chopped or shredded.
• Moisten dry materials as they are added.

A special note from our culinary & education specialist, Miss Jenn, on reducing food waste in your home 

There are so many practices implemented at the farm to reduce food waste and I know that many of our CSA Farm Share members are taking steps at reducing food waste at home and hope you are too!  If you are storing food correctly that is the first and easiest step in reducing food waste.  Saving scraps for stock is another simple way.  Freeze discarded tops and bottoms root veggies and use them when making stock or to flavor soups and stews. Using parts of the plants that for many years were discarded, such as the leaves from roots and the stems from leaves, is another example. Leek tops can be saved for stock, or you might try Creamed Leek Tops.  When peeling potatoes, you can make fried potato skins, healthier in an air fryer or baked than in deep oil, the choice is yours.  Juicing is another example of utilizing all of the parts of the fruit or vegetable.  Any extras from the refrigerator can be made into a stir fry, or stew or possibly added to a smoothie or slushy. In this season you might be making dried apple peel chips. Broccoli stems can be made into broccoli butter or shredded for and omelet or frittata.   One of our CSA members is quite inventive and makes tomato powder from otherwise discarded tomato skins when canning.  Don’t forget you can freeze, preserve or dehydrate items before they go to waste. All of these ways help contribute to less food waste at home which helps the environment and your wallet! 

Best wishes from our farm kitchen to yours!