Things you wanna keep out of the compost

In my last entry, I discussed the kinds of items to be included in the compost. In fact, I found a whole list of bizarre things that can be included in the compost, ranging from pet fur to road kill (not quite applicable here, unless you're talking about the poor animals that mysteriously end up dead on the PIE...). Today, let's talk about things we want to avoid having in our compost.

Since the whole reason why we want to compost is so we know exactly what we're feeding our house herbs and food plants with, it might defeat the purpose a little to include the following:

1. Tissue with our/someone else's mucus. This may sound a little obvious, but since tissue is one of those paper products that we can include in our compost, I imagine when we're collecting stuff to recycle, we might just include one of these by accident. Do be careful, because we don't want to be feeding our compost viruses!

2. Leftover meat (either cooked or raw). The C-project described here is meant to be an indoor endeavor.  So meat products are a big no-no. Not only are they slow to compost, they might attract the wrong company with bad odors. So if you're thinking of composting leftover food, make sure you filter out those meat.

3. Pet poop. For the same reason why we want to avoid mucus-covered tissues, we want to avoid poop. Adding them to the pile only brings you more complications, in the form of bacteria and parasites, to name a few. There's also the matter of hygiene - my compost bin is right by my kitchen sink, so I wouldn't want poop anywhere near where I am handling food.

4. Diseased anything. There are many sites that advice against including diseased plants. I know it's tempting to just include those greens that used to do so well in your garden. But, if including them makes it impossible to use your compost soil for your new plants, I think it's better to just avoid them.

There are many other things that different sites and books recommended excluding from our compost. I think as beginners in indoor composting, we should avoid all things that are known to smell. If you have your compost in your kitchen, another thing to avoid would be having items that breed or contain bacteria around. I guess if we followed all these precautions, our composting project should be a fun one!

Here's a list of the sites I referred to while preparing this entry...
>> 22 things you didn't know you could compost, WebEcoist
>> 7 things you should never compost, Veggie Gardener
>> How not to compost: 10 things to leave out of the bin, Planet Green

The stuff that becomes "gold"...

Now that we've got our compost bins and we're all ready to start on our home C-project, the next question really is - what do we compost? Most sites and books recommend starting a compost pile either with worms or compost soil, which can kick start the composting process. I chose to have compost soil (since I happen to have them) instead of worms for this project.

Egg shells, garlic skin, carrot peels & Ti Wang Choy ends.

Most families in Singapore tend to have pretty much all their meals out; cooking can be an infrequent affair. I also find it challenging to have to prepare all my meals at home especially when work hours get hectic. If we didn't have to cook for the pets, I doubt we would have much to compost. As it is, we have lots of potato and carrot peels, sometimes veggie-roots, and egg shells for recycling.

For our C-project, here are some of the things you can include and hope it becomes "gold" in your compost:

Potato, carrot peels, coffee & tea.

1. Veggie scraps - in the form of peels or ends. I filled mine up with potato and carrot peels on the first day. Today, I topped it up with garlic skin, more carrot peels and Ti Wang Choy ends.

2. Egg shells - The important thing to note when adding these shells in our home compost is to make sure we wash them clean and crush them first. Egg remaining in the shell is likely to start stinking. If you have a small kitchen like I do, I would want to make sure those shells are clean before they go anywhere near the pile...

3. Tea leaves or coffee grinds - One of the articles I referred to on Gaiam life, Can I compost this? lists tea leaves as green materials and coffee grinds (including the filter) as brown materials. Both contribute differently and we should bear in mind the kind of green vs. brown proportion we want (roughly 50-50). If you're a heavy tea drinker and lighter on the coffee, you might want to ask for some from friends who have coffee grinds or seek out alternative brown materials for your compost.

4. Peanut shells - I think this is something most household would have, especially around Chinese New Year. This is excellent brown material and the next time you have a party where peanuts are served, save the shells!

5. Newspaper & cardboard - Newspaper and cardboard are considered brown materials and need to be shredded before they get added to the compost pile. You might not want to have a compost full of newspaper but adding some of these dry materials will help with the smell and can be used as "bedding".

These five are materials that I imagine we come into more contact with. Another material could be flower clippings from floral arrangements or even flowers that have withered. I would be cautious about adding flowers that have been dyed, but other than that, they make a good addition to your compost.

In my next entry, I shall talk more about what NOT to add... Do watch out for it!

Here's a list of some of the sites where I got my information from...
>> Compost This! What to put in your composter @ Gaiam Life
>> Composting at home with Ohio State University 
>> Indoor composting tips and techniques @ compostjunkie

A mini compost bin for home

The other day during a dinner date, a friend of mine managed to plant an idea in my head - since I am so into planting herbs and other edibles, why not start composting too? Having my own compost soil makes it clear the kind of nutrients I am feeding my plants. 

All you need to make your mini compost bin.

Like many people, I knew what composting involved but had many misunderstandings about the actual process. One of the biggest being that it will stink real bad...

I have to admit my first encounter with compost was back during my university days. My landlord had a big compost out at the side of his house and as tenants, we were encouraged to try recycling bits of food that we normally just discard. It helped that he had this nice big sink that captured a lot of stray food. It made it easier to dump our veggie peels in and take it out to the good old compost. It was my first real encounter with the recycling of raw materials and I was quite happy to learn more about how I can help stay green. 

The kitten is optional. 

The only issue I had with composting was the stench. I am not sure how many delicate noses there are out there, but I am sure that the last thing we want in our homes is a permanent stench of rotting food... So before I plunged headlong into my own compost project, I made the effort to do a bit of research.

I found that there are many other like-minded people who started their composting projects long before I did and have been really doing their part to help get others on their way. One such group is composting in Singapore. They share ways we can make our own large compost bins and tips on how to de-stench them so the bins can sit nicely out along the corridor.  

For my project, I wanted to go small. Sometimes, we don't have corridors for large compost bins or simply find it too troublesome to get the leftovers out of the house and into the compost. I know I certainly find composting less appealing if I need to bring my damp food or tea out. So I figured a bin that fits my kitchen counter top would probably work best for someone like me. 

My idea for the bin came primarily from the tips on ehow.com, How to make an apartment composter, but with a few modifications. The items needed to make the compost bin are as follows: 

Plan where to drill on the bin cover.

-- A small bin in the color you love best and a size that will fit your kitchen countertop

-- Plastic cat spikes (that don't work at preventing my kitten from trampling all over my plants)

-- Multi-purpose mesh & wire

-- Wire cutter, an electric drill, and a pair of scissors

After the drilling. 

 First you will want to drill enough holes in your bin so that the air can circulate well. This is quite important because if your compost stays cooped up, chances are the stench will really build up and get released in a big puff of toxic cloud.

Ok, maybe I am exaggerating. Anyway, for my project, I've decided not to drill holes in the base of my bin because I want the liquid to be trapped in it and not dripping out. This makes it necessary to go on to the next step, which is to prepare the cat spikes. They go in the base of the bin and help drain the compost while making sure it gets sufficient air.

Placing the spikes at the base of the bin.

The last thing I do is build a net using the multi-purpose mesh and wire. I decided to go with a square net because the bin I am using has short spikes at the spine of the cover to support the net. The making of the net is actually the most tedious part of the project but I am glad I tried! The end product is a net that can be lifted out of the bin so that we can easily rinse the liquid that gets trapped at the base of the bin whenever we feel it necessary.

There is obviously so much more to improve on but I think for a first try, this was not too bad. I guess what's more important to me is, have I succeeded at making composting more appealing to you?

In my next entry, I shall be sharing more on what goes into your compost and also, what NOT to place in it... 

The mini pesticide experiments

Ever since I started this project of tracking down small food plants to grow at home, the next challenge I've had to face is the safest way of curbing the insect population, which also feed on our food plants. In my previous posts, I shared how caterpillars, aphids and mealy bugs can harm our plants, but also how insecticides wrongly applied can harm your children or pets. This got me started on ways we can make our pesticides using materials we know are safe.

Using canola oil, baking soda & soap.

The recipes I tried out today are mainly from an article on natural garden pest control and the video I shared earlier by the Produce Garden. 

Recipe 1 - For insects & fungal diseases

This recipe required 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and a few drops of soap in approximate 1 liter of water. 

All you need to do is measure out the ingredients, add water and mix or shake in a used container. You might want to have the end product in a spray bottle.

Canola oil & dishwashing soap for Recipe 2.

Recipe 2 - For soft-bodied insects (e.g. aphids & mealy bugs) 

This recipe required just 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and a few drops of soap in approximately 1 liter of water. Again, mix all your ingredients in the water and have it in a spray bottle. This is commonly sold in shops as white oil. 

To apply, spray it both downwards and upwards on your leaves. The oil makes it hard for the insects to survive. 

Ingredients for Recipe 3.

Recipe 3 - As a general pesticide

This recipe follows that featured in the video by the Produce Garden. It required chopped up chilies, garlic and soap. In the video, dried chilies were used but I chose to use the chili padi that were going bad. 

In my experiment, I used two small chili padi, one clove of garlic and approximately 1 tablespoon of soap. Having dumped the soap, chopped up chili and garlic into my bottle, I added warm water before giving it a good stir. This pesticide needs to sit a week before you strain the chunky bits out and transfer to a spray bottle. 

Chopped chili & garlic

I will be saving this pesticide for next week. Today, I tried the white oil on my curry leaves and pandan. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping the pesticides work! The constant (but irregular) rain we've been having is making it hard to gauge just when the insects will come. 

I hope we all have fun making these pesticides to protect our plants from unwelcome guests. 

I will be talking about composting at home in my next entry. Do look out for it, especially if you've been thinking about having it at home but worried about the stench! 

The end product with messy labels.

Insecticides or home-made repellents?

One of the worries any gardener faces is the potential bug infestation. In urban gardens, this is an especially real threat. My apartment is located near the ground level. As a result, there is constant combat with the crawlies. I also worry about whether having a plant in my living room is going to attract nasty aphids or mealy bugs in addition to the ants parading in my flat. It would be easy to turn to commercial insecticides for most gardeners and in fact, there are many such products readily available.

Insect spray available in supermarkets. 

The kind of selection found in nurseries.

Things get tricky when you are a budding gardener and also a pet owner. What previously feels like a wide selection of insecticides for your plants may suddenly narrow down to... nothing.

I also went through this debate and used to think that anything will do if my plants are hung high enough, or if I spray and make sure the pets don't go near the plants till it's dried. That is until I realised that I have a herbivorous cat. Her avid plant-chewing habits forced me to look for products that are pet-safe. I am thankful that the white oil serves just this very purpose. They are generally human and pet-friendly but effective in saving your plants from nasty bugs. Wiki lists it as a home-made insecticide and in my next entry, I shall be discussing the different types of insecticides you can try concocting at home.

A handy & pet-safe insecticide.

For now, if you are just a budding gardener and want to do no more than to see your plant sprout and your flowers bloom, go the easy and commercial way with insecticides. But do make sure to choose one that suits your household, be it one with herbivorous pets or inquisitive young children.

Guests in your urban garden

A while back when the weather here in Singapore was much sunnier, I was lounging around with the dogs and thinking of ways to 'insecticide" the plants on my balcony while keeping it safe for the pets. My cat, in particular, loves young shoots, new leaves. It's insane how much her chewing habits resembles that of a panda, actually. I am crying a little here as I recall the recent damage she's done to my bamboo.

But I digress. That sunny afternoon, I was thinking of the problems I'd encountered with some of the insects. The aphids and mealy-bugs were clearly guests I can do without. As I was thinking and semi-admiring the plants, I noticed a beautiful butterfly flitting from one flower to the next. I'd had moths and wasps hovering around some of my plants before but never a butterfly as pretty as this one. I remember excitedly pointing (in vain) at the butterfly and attempting to direct my dogs' attention to a beautiful sample of nature right at the balcony. I really regret not taking any photos of the beautiful thing; I should have because it would have been a nice memory of what I thought was a very welcome guest.

A couple days after the visit, I noticed a couple of my plants "balding". I naturally assumed that my cat'd been helping herself to the green buffet and was too lazy to do a thorough check till the weekend. By then, my mint and basil had been cleanly devoured and was bald beyond the point of no return. It was then that I noticed the guest I so welcomed earlier in the week had left a very unwelcome present for me - at least two caterpillars!!

The only evidence left of my unwelcome guest

In the end, after a big fuss and much horror, I had help removing the caterpillars and this time, bothered to find my camera for a picture. There were actually two different kinds of caterpillars living among my plants and if you find this green one gross, you'd have freaked at the sight of the other brown ones; deceptively dead-looking but very much alive. I've been trying to actively suppress my memory of the brown caterpillars since...

I definitely learnt a big lesson here: Beauty really comes at a cost. I paid two of my plants for a 5-second glimpse of beauty in my garden. Do you think it was worth it?

Somehow, I doubt I will ever see butterflies with the same joy again....