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Time to get our hands dirty and make compost! But let's step back for a moment to discuss the pros and cons of "on site" and "off site" composting.
On Site:
This is a pretty straight forward method where all components are found onsite of your home or homestead. Onsite composting can be a pile or in a designated container. It utilizes non-animal scraps, with exception of fish, and small to medium quantities of food scraps made in the kitchen along with enhancers. Other components of onsite composting are yard trimmings and small branches (twigs).
Pros:
Conveniently located on your property making the process of saving food scraps and other components of composting a bit easier to remember to do
You have control over what is used in the composting process
Low cost to create
Cons:
Requires knowledge of how composting works
Excess food scraps can attract unwanted critters and insects
Actual time you spend on composting takes you away from other homesteading tasks as it requires fairly consistent monitoring
Off Site:
This is also pretty straight forward as well and is the perfect solution for the apartment gardener. Food scraps are collected in closed containers and then dropped off at a designated site or at a CSA, Community Shared Agriculture, location. Homeowners not wanting to deal with composting can drop off yard trimmings, leaves, and small branches. Some HOAs this is a requirement. These organizations carefully monitor and control the composting process and in turn has quality compost available for home usage.
Pros
Doesn't require you to have in-depth knowledge of how composting works
Someone else does the work for you
Reduced amount of pests near your home
Cons
Having to remember to take your scrap and yard refuse to the collection center
Some organizations charge for the compost and may or may not give a discount for regularly contributing
Want to more? Reach out to your local garden company and/or you Texas Agriculture Extension Office to find out where composting classes are available.
From here on out, we will be discussing various on site methods of composting. Vermicomposting has Mother Nature giving a boost to the composting process.
Vermicomposting
From Science Direct "By definition, vermiculture is the process of breeding earthworms, whereas the liquid filtered from the watery wash of earthworms is called vermiwash, while, vermicomposting is the transformation process of organic waste to compost or vermicompost by the use of earthworms."
This is one of the bonuses you might find happening naturally with your composting pile if you already live in an area where they are naturally found in the soil. Where we live, we needed some help to jumpstart this process and ordered red worms from a supplier. A popular website that we use is https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/ they do not have an affiliate program making this a non-monetized link because they are just that good. They are meticulous when shipping their worms and other insects along with benefit of your postal carrier cringing at the sound of movement from a box. A word of caution: they are a deep hole of wanting to learn more about anything crawly and the benefits of each.
The casing, poop, of worms is highly sought after as the premium compost out there. Yes, the easiest method is to head over to your local big box store or neighborhood garden center and purchase it already made. The bonus to this method of composting is that it makes an excellent addition to any homeschooling curriculum. Head on over to https://www.ruralsprout.com/diy-worm-tower/ where they get you started for less than $15 (err on the side of caution due to inflation and set aside $30.)
This is the second round of four (4) blog posts the dive into composting. Round one (1) can be found here. Round 3 we will discuss the pros and cons of Aerated Static Pile Composting and Aerated Windrow Composting. Round four (4) has us spinning for container composting also known as "In-Vessel" composting.
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