Sparks in the Soil

Worm Composting: Green AND Funny!

I loved this fun countertop composting video from Grist.  Not only did I learn from it that 13 percent of American garbage is food--and that said food emits dangerous methane gas when confined in plastic garbage bags--but I giggled at comedian David Cross' riff on worm composting.  Poor little underpaid wormies....

Composting Pumpkins: Note to Self

My next-door neighbor maintains a gloriously wild, riotously colorful garden that is obviously fed with lots of love...and excellent compost.  Yesterday, as families around the 'hood began to watch their porches for signs of Jack-o-Lantern collapse, she sent around an email asking that instead of tossing their gourds, they donate them to the cause of her compost heap.

What an excellent idea, and what a beautiful thought to imagine the leftovers from a community's celebration of Halloween finding new life in the glory of next year's garden.  If I weren't going to give our front-porch pumpkin to my own worms, I'd gladly donate it to the cause.

But note to self for any Halloween pumpkin composters out there:  Remove all seeds from your pumpkin before you heave it onto the compost heap!  If you need explanation as to why, read this cautionary tale of a garden gone to pumpkin in the course of one season....

So oh, darn - you'll just have to save your seeds and roast them!  My new favorite way?  Sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and a little sea salt.  Crunch!

Have you signed up for my feed yet?  It's easy - just click here!