Learning to Compost

Who'd have thunk composting would be so complicated. Like everything else there are a million ways to achieve the same results. I suppose finding what works for you is the key.

I want to use compost for our family garden, but there are several different ways to compost. From composting kitchen scraps, doing it with worms, even using pet waste. I like the idea of composting with worms, but apparently not just any old garden variety night crawler will work. Different worms like to eat different things. The red wriggler seems to be the compost worm. You'll have to keep checking back for my progress, but I'm going to start on a much easier project and build up to worms.

I'm going to start with the kitchen compost method: a composting kit with a filter and activator and a canister under the sink with a tight lid. The tight lid is important as I can't imagine rotting food under my sink smelling that great.

Some of the composting methods I have found are not allowed in all cities. According to the California state website, some cities require compost to be covered. I have also read it can take up to a year for some of the methods to produce anything worth using.

From what I gather, you can compost only what came from a plant. Colored paper, inks and bacon grease will poison your compost. Weeds are iffy; they say weeds are OK before they seed. I however am not educated in weed seeds so I'll pass. Egg shells crushed and coffee grounds are OK. Pet waste should not be added to compost for your vegetable garden.

The methods all include layers. If it's a pile in the back yard, in a bin or a tumbler, they all say to start with a layer of twigs on the bottom. After you add household waste you should add a thin layer of yard clippings. Leaves are better if dried and crushed or added as a compost tea. Moisture is important. Most of the blogs/websites I read say rain will do the trick but to not let it get soggy. Covers on piles or containers will help keep in moisture. Occasionally this will also make the compost steam. This is good. It means the compost is doing what it should.

The preferred compost methods depend on the size of garden. The kitchen canister is good for apartments and smaller gardens. The three-sided, outside compost bin or pile is better for large gardens. For a medium sized garden, a tumbler or a bin with holes should do.

Compost can be done a couple of ways. Some people will aerate it by turning it once a month or every six months. Some do the lazy method and just let it sit. Some add chicken or livestock manure. No matter how hands-on you are at stirring your compost, it will happen, and it will not smell like rot but sweet and earthy. Only one blog mentions it can take up to a year before you will get anything usable.

I am excited to try. Come back later to learn about compost tea; I am still learning about that. I hear it's great for lawns and will help your soil restore to an organic condition in about three years.

Links I read for my info:
http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/compost.html
http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html
http://www.composting101.com/what-to-use.html
http://www.composting101.com/compost-bins.html
http://www.composting101.com/worm-composting.html
http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Organics/HomeCompost/#BinPile
http://www.ehow.com/how_3541_begin-compost-pile.html

If your looking for something I used and it works well check out my Amazon Store

On the right of this page there is a link. If anything has peeked your interest and it's something you wanted to try it. I'm trying to post it.

http://astore.amazon.com/blefamof5-20

• My roaster is up there along with other kitchen goodies that make my life just a little easier.


• Books me and my children read and love. Highly recommend Raindrop and Peek a boo. A good friend of mine wrote it.


• Toys that keep my kids attention for more than a few minutes. A must for large families or parents who want their kids to have minimal time watching TV or playing video games


• Video Games I think are alright for my kids to play.


• Lastly I had a lot of babies. I try to live fairly natural and these are products I've used and some I still do.

I'm will be adding things we use and like in our garden and music we like.

If you have a product your are trying to sell and have it on Amazon.com Please let me know. I'm happy to help out a small business.

Some of my more memorable talks with my kids

Marysa is 10 now. Some say she's an old soul. Two conversations stand out in my memory. First was shortly after my separation from her father. She was newly three years old. We were driving over Vasco Rd if you know where that is. It's long and no turn offs. We were in evening traffic. She told me she had a dream. it was about ghosts chasing us. She hid in the car with Daddy while I puller out my sword and fought the ghosts. Second she was five. I was pregnant with Sonny. She asked where babies come from? I reversed the question on her. Her answer was 'the Daddy gives the Mommy chocolate. The the baby grow the Mommy's belly really really big. Then the Mommy poops the baby out and the doctor catches it."

Tanner also 10. She kills me. She told me once the reason she likes me was because I was a better marcher than her dad. My favorite was when we were camping. She was four. We went to a campfire the campsite put on. Ranger Woody was telling us some stories. Tanner starts yelling. "He's really freaking me out." The same night we are about to go to sleep and she tells her dad. She does not sleep in a tent she sleeps where there are walls.

Joey...... Around 6 years old he tells me he knows what a female is. OK Joey what's a female. He says a duck with a green head. I almost fell over. My favorite was just a few months ago. We're in the car coming home from somewhere and he says. I would so watch a movie about the Mayflower. Puzzled I asked him why. Well it's a cool story. A pirate ship crashes into a iceberg and splits in half.

Sonny is three now. He talks in his sleep. Yells out Peanut Butter shoes. When he gets mad he tells me "Joey hit me." My favorite was when he looked at me with his big blue eyes and says. "The kitty farted." He also calls my Mom grandpa or Grambida.

Declan is newly two. Just today Warren says to him. You have two brothers. What are their names? He responds Oink Oink. Yesterday at school he hit Sonny. The teacher asked him to promise he would not hit Sonny again. He yells I will not promise. I will hit Sonny. At least he was honest.



Two more stories just because they melted my heart. My niece Audrey when she was in preschool brought something to school for show and tell. She told the class her Fairy Godmother Auntie Mary gived it to her.



My nephew Jimmy(Joey's biological brother) way back when I was 19 had four of the funniest things I ever heard a child say. First we where driving to see a movie and he asks me if I'm always going to call him booger. I tell him of course I am. In his big voice he tells me . THEN I'M NOT GOING TO DRIVE YOU IN MY CAR. Another time I was crying and he came in my room. Climbs up on my bed and looks at me with his big brown eyes. Auntie Mary don't cry. I will always take care of you. He was with me when I was choosing my wedding dress for the first marriage. He's in the fitting room making a loud shhhhh sound. Jimmy what are you doing? He proudly announces he's a colling system. Last but not least he's at my apartment.Drawing picture at the table. Comes walking in to the room I was in with a drawing behind his back. "Auntie Mary. I have a surprise for you." From behind his back he presents me with a drawing. "What is it?" He replies. "A very special air conditioner just for you." I still smile thinking of how silly and sweet that was.

Hmm how to socialize when you have kids

Let me give you a visual of my week.

I get up. I take a shower. I wake up kids. I make lunches. I make sure kids got up. I turn the TV on to distract the younger kids. I get the preschoolers up. I put Sonny on the potty. I get Sonny dressed. I put waffles in the toaster. I get Declan up and dressed. I give Declan a waffle. I remind the older kids to put their homework in their backpack. I turn on my car .I load Declan then Sonny in my car. I yell good-bye to everyone jump in my car and drop Sonny and Declan off at Bright Stars Learning Center. (AWESOME PRESCHOOL) I listen and hug and kiss my boys while they hang on my leg crying. They are offered breakfast and I walk out the door. I stop to wave at their smiling faces at the window complete with kiss blowing. Then I'm off to work. I check my navigator for an ETA and choose my route. Once I'm on the freeway I make calls I need to make. Blue-tooth :-) I'm in traffic any where form 40 minutes to an hour. I get to San Ramon with time to spare. Starbucks is calling me. Into Safeway where the line is shortest. Order a Grande Pikes Roast room for cream. Doctor my coffee up and off to work. I park far from the door for a quarter mile brisk walk. Set my coffee on my desk, fill up my water bottle and sit and wait for the clock to change.

I'm on the clock taking one call after another, solving and selling my little heart out. First break I call my Mom. She needs to be checked on. It's a daughters job. Back on the phones then lunch. I eat a bowl of streamed fresh veggies no salt no oil every day. I by a diet Coke. Sometimes I chat, or make a call I can't make before or after work. Then back to the phones. SELL SELL SELL. Last break I touch bases with Warren. He's usually getting or have the kids by then. One more hour or so on the phones. Then one of 2 things happen. Physical Therapy or pick up the boys. I get in my car. Evening drive is my social call to one of my girlfriends, sister or parents. Withing 45 minutes to an hour or so I'm at Bright Stars picking up my boys. Stop long enough to see how their day went and collect their art projects. Then it off to home. We sing songs on the way home. Twinkle Twinkle Traffic light is a favorite.

We are home by 7 at the latest. We walk in the door Warren says Hi Baby Cakes. The boys run right to him for hugs and kisses. Joey is at the door waiting to tell me he's hungry and how awful his life is. Warren is either making dinner or working. When I have to make dinner. I walk straight into the kitchen wash my hands and start cooking. Usually something most of us will eat. The kids eat and I do the dishes. Then bath. If homework is done I sit, if not we finish it. This on some nights can last until 10pm. Declan is put to bed at 830pm. Joey at 9pm and the girls we're still working on it. Sonny is a creature of the night. In addition to our regular madness on any given night, depending on the season we could be at a basketball, soccer or baseball game or practice or lessons.

Then it's the weekend. Relax. HAHA! Laundry,laundry and more laundry. Pick up the house, vacuum, mop, wipe down counters and clean what ever I can Saturday morning. Again depending on the season I might be at a soccer game as a Mom chasing toddlers or is the game referee. I could be at a baseball game again as the Mom chasing toddlers. These events take up most of my Saturday. Saturday night we might have a playdate, a birthday party, go bowling or to the drive-in. Sunday lets hit the park, the zoo, Chuck E. Cheese, one of the cousins, church, the water slides, walk around the Lafayette reservoir or any other family activity you can think of.

So when do I have me time.........? I don't. I have to plan it. Luckily I have friends that are just as busy as me and get it. I have professional friend, single friends, and friends with kids. Some are all three. I try to make plans way in advance so I know not to plan anything else and can book a babysitter. Sometimes I go out with my friends and their kids and mine combined. Talk about a parade. I love my girl time. Talks with other grown ups about anything. Sometimes I even go out with my husband.

The interesting thing about my social life is I have one I got after I had three kids and no free time. It became easier to meet a friend in a park we routinely go to or a friend of a friend I clicked with. I have very few "old" friends from high school. In the begin of regaining me time I became friends with co-workers. I quickly learned unless you want to live in a rumor mill keep your business at home and your co-workers at work.

I routinely go out on couples dates. This seems to be the best social outlet for me. Get one babysitter. Have a lovely dinner with my husband and see my/our friends at the same time. It also great for those times you plan a date and one of you just isn't feeling it. There is always another person to distract and improve your mood. I have a few couples we try to do this with often. Other ways I've been able to get out is go with the kids to a casual party. My sweetheart and what other Dad is around then watch the kids while me and the girls exit to a kids free fun. The last trick is my sweetheart just watches the kids for a few hours and a thought out lunch or shopping trip is planned with a friend. My favorite me time is when Grandma and Grandpa who live 3 hours south of me come to visit and mention Warren and I should go out. Any one of these social dates requires planning way in advance. I use Google calendars to tract everyone social life to find the best time for me to have one. That way I still get to be Mommy and Mary.

When I'm dying to just hang out with Warren we have a late night sofa date. Kids snug in their beds. Snacks, and drinks and a movie alone with my honey. He even lets me pick the movie sometimes.

That is a nut shell is how a super busy working Mom can too have a life.

Laundry

I can count on one hand how many of my friends have the same amount of laundry to do as me. They are the ones with four or more kids. As you know I have five. Two preteen girls make double the amount of my three boys. Then my husband and my self.

I have a method I like to use when washing clohes. I have to say as long and no one interupts my routine by Sunday evening my multiple loads of laundry are washed and put away.

I like the dirty clothes to be put in our main bathroom. Eye sore I know but constant reminder as well. Even over flowing just throw it in there,get in my system and done. On the floor in a bedroom is just not going to get done and you are the kids asking me where is ________? When everyone else has theirs.

I like to start my laundry for the week on Wednesday. By Sunday my clothes are clean. The picture is a Thursdays amount of laundry. I know it seems impossible and never ending but it gets done.

My kids help. Here is our game plan.

I have two double load baskets. One I keep in the bathroom. The idea is to get it before it spills out. (As you can see this week I failed. ) The second one I keep empty in the garage. I always have a load in the washer. The basket is always ready for the dryers clothes to be brought in. The wet go in the dryer. I bring my basket into the livingroom and fold. The emptied basket is filled with a new load for the washer. Taken to the machine and left empty for the dryer.

All clothes get folded in stacks according to owner. Each owner is responsible for putting their own stack away. Joey for extra stars on his chart will help me put away his baby brothers clothes. Sonny is in charge of putting towels away.

All of that folding and washing leaves us with one last bit of laundry and my pet peeve. SOCKS!!!!!

Like you, on a much larger scale I fear is sorting socks. Seven peoples socks to sort every week are mostly white. I personally loath sorting and pairing socks so I created the crazy sock system. Not very complex and can use improvment. It's a single load laundry basket all the clean socks go in. This is also the one thing that can earn my kids stars on their chart. I'll give a star to every sock paired with it's mate. (My kids love stars. They are worth an item from Target when they reach 200. They more often than not select a video game. A well earned treat I think.) If the kids don't sort neither do I. I HATE miss matched socks.

My work to resolve the resolutions has begun.

I'm home. My back is a mess and I'm trying to keep my mind away from Facebook 24/7 and Who's baby is it anyway on daytime TV. (You pick the show)

The weather still isn't right for out door garden work but in side I can PLAN!!!!! Hooray for the Internet and a lovely man to bump ideas off of.


The list:

• corn
• bok choy
• strawberries
• sweet peas
• Japanese Eggplant
• pumpkins
• melon
• tomato
• squash
• Sunflowers( Hopefully to make a fort this year)

My backyard is an empty slate. When we rented the house 5 years ago it was nicely racked dirt. The rain bring lots of wild grass and my itch to grow. You may have seen my garden a few years ago. It was good but this year it will be AWESOME!!!! As I've done before I will keep you posted on our progress.

These are the first pictures of the awful truth we need to deal with before ugly is pretty. Currently it's fun. It has a ton of ladybugs and hours of fun catching them.

First part of the adventure this year is the compost.

About 3 months back I filled a huge 80 gallon bin with yard clippings. I am hoping to use this as a starting place for my compost. So far it is 12 inches shorter than it has been.

Craiglist.org will be my starting place for a composting drum that I can easily turn the decomposing clipping and eventually organic kitchen waste. Wish me luck!

Lutz boys sing Rock n Roll High School