50 Acts of Green: Day Twenty - Composting

While I eat food at a rate that puts the Cookie Monster eating cookies to shame,

there are food scraps that don't make it into my system.
"Where do all my food scraps go?" you may ask.
I have for a long time been a big proponent of composting.
Composting is the art of creating dirt.
If you once thought there was an art for everything, you are completely correct.
Who knew there was even an art of creating dirt!
If you read all the guides and infographics on composting, you'll notice a few differences between the guides. Most agree that there should be a ratio of 2 brown materials to 1 green materials. Everyone agrees you need air and sunlight and rain and time for all the little organisms to make compost. What they don't agree on necessarily is what should and shouldn't be put in compost piles, how long compost will take to make, how often to turn it, how much air it needs, all those lovely variables that turn compost into an art.
The science of making dirt is fairly straightforward, nitrogen rich items and carbon rich items are broken down by micro- and macro-organisms already present in the soil and environment. Give it some time and wa-la! Dirt. Rich, healthy, gardening dirt.

I have two small compost bins inside my house, one in my kitchen for food scraps, our compostable tissues, and dead plant stalks. The second one is in my bathroom, collecting hair, finger nail clippings, and other random bathroom compostable detritus. I'm not exactly sure how my compost pile is doing right now, other than it is probably time to turn it. So far, it is simply a pile in my backyard space, though I have been looking at special composting bins, either commercially sold or diy. I am hoping it will be one of my summer outside projects this year.

One small act of green, nutrients saved!