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Our summer garden did remarkably well, especially for being organic. I knew, being pregnant, I didn't want to mess with any kinds of chemicals or pesticides that weren't natural. Our okra is taking off in this extreme Texas heat, but everything else is definitely end-of-season quality. It was a very satisfying experience though, for our whole family!
Now it's time to start planning our fall garden. I don't have big plans, but I do know I want to plant carrots, lettuce, and snap peas. I have big concerns that the soil has been depleted of the valuable minerals and nutrients that are needed to sustain a fall garden. We received a Toter composter at no charge to review and in July, we began piling it up with compostable items, and the compost is beginning to be ready! How exciting can turning old yucky stuff into nutrient rich compost for our garden?!
I have looked at a lot of composters and have been very satisfied with the Toter composter. It came with an indoor collection bucket that has been oh so helpful so we don't have to have an open container in the kitchen. It is also a great reminder to think before we throw things in the trash. Can this be composted? I wasn't sure, so I did a little research! Here's a list of things you can throw into your Toter composter:
- fruits and veggies, of course
- coffee grounds AND filters
- toilet paper and paper towel rolls
- tea bags (remove the staples if there are any!)
- paper napkins or paper towels
- paper
- wood chips
- cardboard, ripped into small pieces
- hay
- cut grass
- lint
- pasta
- rice
- bread
- popcorn
- paper bags, ripped into small pieces
- cereal
- corks
- paper egg cartons
- pine needles
- leaves
- matches
- toothpicks
- hair – human or pet hair
- paper muffin cups
- facial tissues
- bamboo or wood skewers
- cotton balls
- old cotton clothes
- wool
- wood ashes
- sawdust
- pencil shavings
- the stuff you clean out of your vacuum cleaner!
- flowers
- crepe paper
- egg shells
- vines
- garden soil
- latex balloons
- corn cobs
- gelatin
- feathers
- limestone
- soy products
- peat moss
- tree bark
- cotton swabs
- citrus waste
- potato chips
- nut shells
- straw
The list really goes on and on and on. It has been recommended to not add these things to your compost pile: meat, bones, fats, oils, dairy products, diseased plant material, feces from cats, dogs, birds, pigs, and humans. Some suggest adding urine to your compost pile to speed up the process, but well, that's up to you! I'm not sure I'm on board with that one yet.
Are you an avid composter? Have any tips to share with me?
Marian Boll says
August 15, 2013 at 5:44 pmLOVE THIS CONTEST to keep my neighbor cleaner by me just doing this one action is great
Shary says
August 15, 2013 at 7:13 pmIf I won I would give it to my father. He has a great landscape going on and he plants all kinds of things from flowers to fruit trees to veggie vines!
Enizete Lane says
August 16, 2013 at 5:52 amWould love to start using a composter for my organic garden….
Cindy Peterson says
August 16, 2013 at 5:56 amComposting made easy.
Jennifer Rogers says
August 16, 2013 at 6:07 amYes we garden and love it.Decomposition does take awhile with composting, the best tip is to mix it regularly as it decomposes!
Tari Lawson says
August 16, 2013 at 7:34 amI would like to grow herbs.
Dorothy Teel says
August 16, 2013 at 8:03 amOne thing my mom used to say is if its brown paper, boxes it can be composted, and it is important to turn the compost at times with pitchfork to keep it alive so it can brak down appropriately and don't put meat in the bin.
Kelly D says
August 16, 2013 at 9:10 amWe just started our garden this year and learned what didn't work. Next year I would like to plant more zucchini, tomatoes and eggplant.
lisa says
August 16, 2013 at 11:34 amI like to grow hot peppers and tomato plants. I had one plant that did extremely well. It grew over six feet tall. I used Jerry Baker tips from his book.
Cindy Brickley says
August 16, 2013 at 11:47 amWe have a very large garden and I would love to start composting. I think that would be a definite help to our gardening.
Ann Fantom says
August 16, 2013 at 12:42 pmWe grow strawberries, corn, tomatos, peppers, peas, pumpkins, lettuce and cucumbers in our garden
Lisa Evanoff says
August 16, 2013 at 1:18 pmI have a salsa garden growing….lots of tomatoes!
Candice says
August 16, 2013 at 3:13 pmI sometimes use coffee grounds in the garden. Seems to help!
Suzanne K says
August 16, 2013 at 3:45 pmI'd be careful and NOT add cat or dog food since they do have at least some meat/meat by products in them.
Gena says
August 22, 2013 at 10:07 amThat's a good point….thank you!
ken ohl says
August 16, 2013 at 6:02 pmlove to grow corn and tomatos and squash
Margie Young says
August 16, 2013 at 6:39 pmI'd love to grow lettuce and spinach !!
Amanda Alvarado says
August 16, 2013 at 8:25 pmI would love to grow strawberries, tomatos, jalapenos, different types of lettuce, cucumbers, and squash.
Diane Cooper says
August 16, 2013 at 9:42 pmThe most important tip I have about composting is to turn often.
Anne Perry says
August 16, 2013 at 11:37 pmI use dr. bronner's castile soap on my garden to keep bugs away
Kitty says
August 16, 2013 at 11:43 pmI'd love to grow tomatoes and herbs!
Jennifer Marohn says
August 17, 2013 at 3:33 amI like to grow veggies. This year we have cucumbers, squash, green bell pepers, and tomatoes.
Jeanne says
August 17, 2013 at 5:54 amDon't really have any tips but we love to grow tomatos. They are always a summer staple in our house.
mickeyfan says
August 17, 2013 at 10:04 amInstead of catching our grass to mulch around plants (we like to leave it in the turf) we use newspapers.
Rachel McGuire says
August 17, 2013 at 10:29 amI would love to grow a little of everything. we are beginners and would love to go completely green within the next 5 – 8 years. We want to become self sufficient..
katie says
August 17, 2013 at 4:24 pmI would love to grow tomatoes
Jennifer Aikens says
August 17, 2013 at 7:02 pmI would really love to have some tomatos but it is really hard growing anything out here in Phoenix!
Cindi Decker says
August 17, 2013 at 11:15 pmI don't have any tips but love my flower gardens.
molli vandehey says
August 18, 2013 at 3:13 amim really new to gardening and composting and trying to learn more… thanks everyone for the tips!!!
Carrie Peck says
August 18, 2013 at 8:16 amI am just getting started in gardening so I am excited to get some fruit and veggies going!!
Jenny M. says
August 18, 2013 at 3:41 pmMy hubby tries a garden every year, but it doesn't do really well. I think it's poor soil and this composter would really help. He loves tomatoes, but they just don't produce well here.
Robin Wilson says
August 18, 2013 at 4:04 pmI would love to ave an herb garden!
Rita A says
August 18, 2013 at 5:10 pmWe grow tomatoes and cucumbers. We had so many this year we gave lots to family and friends!
Helga says
August 20, 2013 at 9:14 amCoffee grounds are good for composting. I also use my chickens poop!
Monique Rizzo says
August 20, 2013 at 1:54 pmI have just started gardening, so I have no real tips, but I am enjoying everyone elses!
Thanks for the chance.
mogrill12@gmail.com
CarolynH says
August 21, 2013 at 10:25 pmI harvested my crop of onions & now I want to grow more onions. I'm still baking with my pears.
CarolynH says
August 21, 2013 at 10:28 pmCurrently we are growing tomatoes & bell peppers. I want to grow onions again.
lisa lo says
August 22, 2013 at 1:21 amMy garden is kind of odd. By chance, I am growing Jalapenos and really tall wild Sunflowers.
They are both sturdy and don't really need my care that much.
Erin says
August 22, 2013 at 11:00 amDespite my black thumb, my daughter and I have been gardening. We {successfully} grew peas and sunflowers. Unfortunately the cucumbers didn't get pollinated {after reading about manually pollinating online I know what to do next year!}. It may not be much, but considering we rent and are limited to containers for now… I was happy!
Brad says
August 23, 2013 at 1:34 pmWe had a garden this summer and grew corn, and watermellon, with some pumkins that should be ready by Halloween. I have tried to compost, but I don't get very good results. Probably because I don't turn it enough.
Danielle Porter says
August 24, 2013 at 9:45 pmI grow black berries, raspberries and I just planted a pomogrante tree. Seasnal crops normally consist of tomatoes and sugar snap peas!
deana c says
August 27, 2013 at 8:45 amI like to grow a salsa garden, tomatoes, jalapenos, green peppers and cilantro!
Susan Chester says
August 27, 2013 at 7:39 pmI would like to grow lettuce and tomatoes for salads.
Jim W. says
August 29, 2013 at 9:30 amI'd love to grow vegetables but the soil here is so full of clay, some compost would help.
Martha says
August 31, 2013 at 2:46 amOur family needs to compost all the wastes from our garden and food that we eat. I started teaching my class about how to make our planet green and what started as Social studies and Science lessons has caught on with my elementary students.
Gena says
August 31, 2013 at 10:52 amThat’s great!
michele p says
August 31, 2013 at 6:06 pmwe like to grow tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, carrots, cucumbers and green peppers!
David Carlson says
August 31, 2013 at 11:57 pmI would like to grow some pumpkins.
Vera P. says
September 1, 2013 at 12:12 amI like to pull a few weeds here and there so there is never an abundance. I don't have too many gardening tips though, we just bought a house this year and gardening is something I'm trying to learn. Would love to win this.
Angela Cash says
September 1, 2013 at 5:53 pmI love to grow fresh herbs and seasonal vegetables. I am also trying my hand at growing a succulent garden.
wendy b says
September 1, 2013 at 8:30 pmI'd especially like to grow tomatoes, strawberries and melons.
Jill Myrick says
September 1, 2013 at 10:04 pmWe have a lot of red clay dirt here so every year we mix several bags of topsoil into our garden. Over the years it has really helped build our soil up and helped us grow bigger and better vegetables.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
Lesley F says
September 2, 2013 at 10:49 amWe have a big garden & I grow everything from tomatoes to pumpkins! This would be great to have
Sam B. says
September 2, 2013 at 5:35 pmI'm hoping to grow lots of string beans and bell peppers!
laurie says
September 2, 2013 at 8:26 pmwe grow tomatoes, cucumers, watermelon and cantalopes
Julie Harris says
September 2, 2013 at 8:27 pmI would love to win this for my parents, they would grow onions, tomatoes, green beans, peppers and more, fingers crossed!
Donna K says
September 2, 2013 at 10:41 pmI like to grow lettuce and cucumbers.
Chrystal @ Happy Mothering says
February 17, 2014 at 1:13 pmI love the idea of using a compost bin since we're planning on moving soon. That would make taking the compost along easier!
Amber says
February 17, 2014 at 1:45 pmGreat ideas!
Roechelle says
February 20, 2014 at 8:36 amI cannot wait to start composting again, this post is very inspiring 🙂