compost passion

As I posted in an earlier blog, we started composting as a result of not using plastic liners in our trash.  I am in love with the compost.  I haven't even used it for anything yet, but the rich, dark, heavily scented and alive mulch just brings me a tiny bit of joy!  As with others who are starting to compost, it's been a process as I learned how to adjust the recipe to discourage flies, reduce unpleasant odors and encourage decomposition at a reasonable rate.  

What I'm noticing now, is that I'm not alone in my passion for the compost.  Anyone I've met that has a compost talks about it with a serious emotional attachment.  For example, a good friend of mine in northern Cal wrote a few months ago complaining about her frustration with not being able to find a compost bin.  She then wrote recently with the following note:  "I found a bin about a week after my rant to you about not being able to find a bin locally. You can bet I've let the city (and anyone else who would listen) know about that. After trial and error, last month I turned out a beautiful batch of rich crumbly compost and put it in the garden. This morning as I drank my cup of tea in the backyard - while admiring my plants and enjoying the activity of birds, squirrels and a lizard - I thought of you and Lisa.  I had to write and say hi. I hope you are doing well!"  Can't you just feel the magic of the compost?  And the websites, blogs, and compost classes are further testament to the attraction of composting.  I speculate it's the connection with nature, like gardening, only much easier.  The transformation of our personal garbage to nutrient-rich and life-giving planting material is really amazing if not downright miraculous. 

Try this experiment:  ask others about their compost.  I guarantee they will talk as long as you like and give you all the details of their tiniest contributions to their bins along with blow-by-blow histories of how they arrived at their current compost recipe with an energy and excitement of sports fans whose team won the national championship.  And truthfully, I'm about a 1000 times more interested in the compost!

lynn, co-owner Olive Branch