Lily of the Valley

We have only been home for a few days and I am already missing Paris. Last night I dreamt of the men on the street corners selling tiny little bouquets of lily of the valley. Every time I saw a woman walking home with one I had a sudden urge to buy one, but I refrained knowing that mine would be in full bloom when I returned home. Now when I walk out my back door and breathe in that intoxicating scent, I am taken back to Paris. I brought a little bouquet inside to brighten up my morning routine in the bath. The vase is a black glazed ceramic yogurt pot from the patisserie "Paul" that I dragged all through Europe in my carry-on. Who does that? Please no snide remarks about my nerdiness, Mr. laughed at me every time the pot came tumbling out as I dug in the bag for my camera, chapstick, or umbrella!  Oh, and I won't go into how I now completely refuse to eat yogurt from a plastic container. Ah Paris, even the yogurt is superior!

Composting 101

After this post on my spacey composter I got a few emails from readers with questions about composting, so I thought I would put together a basic primer on composting to answer some of the questions you may have. So...let's get down to the dirt (sorry I couldn't help myself).

Why is composting important?

Composting reduces the amount of waste that each of us sends to the landfill each year. (read this to find out how I feel about that). The United States EPA estimates that roughly 23% of the 'waste stream' in the U.S. is made up of yard trimmings and food scraps while Canada estimates that 30% of their landfill is organic and compostable.

Composting returns vital nutrients such as nitrogen and carbon back to the soil which are natural fertilizers. It loosens clay soils and helps sandy soil retain water. It improves soil structure, texture and aeration. It makes your soil happy.

Why should I compost?

Homemade compost is cheap. You are using garden waste and food scraps that you would normally put in the garbage. Besides, buying fertilizer in the store is for suckers.

Composting makes you a responsible gardener. Every year we expect our gardens to produce copious amounts of beautiful roses and peonies, tasty tomatoes, crisp lettuce and sugar snap peas, fragrant leeks and herbs. Its time to give something back. Say thank you to your soil. 

What can I compost?

Almost any organic material is compostable. The trick is to add both brown materials which are rich in carbon and green materials which are rich in nitrogen. Brown materials include: dried leaves, wood chips, straw. Green materials include: kitchen scraps from fruits, vegetables, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, garden waste such as trimmings, dead headed flowers, lawn trimmings, and weeds. You can even compost paper napkins, shredded newspaper/paper, and pet hair. Some people (crazier than me) have even suggested urine but I (being female) have not quite figured out if I will go that far for good soil. 

What doesn’t go in compost?

Meat and dairy products. Weeds that have pervasive root systems. Chemically treated wood products. Diseased plants. 

Will my compost pile smell?

Only if you let it. Smelliness is usually a sign that your brown and green ratios are off kilter. Adding more brown than green goodies  will give you that nice ‘earth’ smelling compost pile you’ve always wanted. The exact ratio is up for debate, you'll need to use your sniffer to know when it is right or wrong.

Will composting bring out my inner nerd?

I can pretty much guarantee it. Just embrace it and smile smuggly while you harvest your “black gold.” 

For more information visit: 


U.S. Environmental Protection Agency


U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service



Happy composting!


{all photos by A Tree Lined Street}

Let the Composting Begin

I get excited about composting. There I've said it. I can almost hear my sister snickering, and I understand. She has been been witness to my utter nerdiness on many an occassion and been subjected to my exponential nerdiness during countless discussions where I proudly recite what I learned that day on NPR. I have been known to utter the sentence "Math is fun." I read Milton for fun. So she understands (though I am acutely aware that no one else will) why I got so excited when Mr. called me the other day from Costco. Guess what he found:

It's not a spaceship. It's a composter. For composting. And I am giddy. GIDDY. Last fall we were in Orlando and saw this very same one at Costco. (Yes, we frequent Costco. Yes, even on vacation. No, there is nothing wrong with that.) Well, we figured it would suck to try to get it on the plane so we passed it up figuring we could find it back home. Wrong. It was nowhere to be found. Until now. Why this composter? Well we tried to DIY it (big surprise) and the results were slightly less than disastrous.

Stuffing food scraps, leaves and grass in an old tupperware with holes drilled into the side does not a good composter make. Everything gets stuffed in there so tight it is impossible to turn or aerate. Not enough room to mix + not enough air to circulate = not enough compost = one unhappy gardener.  Mr. and I felt compelled to take it to the next level. Extreme composting if you will.

Our new composter can hold 80 gallons of 'black gold' goodness. Look at all that room!

After our little tupperware experiment we learned a few key things about composting that helped aid us in our hunt for the perfect composter:  

• You need to be able to turn or tumble the compost really well in order to incorporate all the goodies and to aerate the mixture. 
• Piled compost that isn't turned takes a year or longer to make finished compost.
• Tumbled compost produces the finished product in as little as 3-4 weeks.
• Heat accelerates the process.
• Even a small garden (or small household) produces unreal amounts of garden waste, and a small tupperware will not contain it all.

I looked around for ideas to make a better DIY version and came up with some good options here and here and here. These plans, while good, did not quite fit the bill for us. We needed something that would fit in our small urban garden yet produce a large amount of compost (I love to garden). We also wanted something that had the ability to produce compost at a faster rate. Thus our store-bought (gasp!) compost tumbler. It's relatively compact so it fits neatly behind the garage and I have an immediate soft spot in my heart for this spacey looking thing.