project garden: our new compost tumbler is here!

[gallery columns="2" ids="17251,17252"][gallery columns="2" ids="17249,17250"]Yaayy! I'm so excited to share that we've started composting at our new home.. finally!When I was living with my parents, they had a 12 patch veggie garden, composting system and water tanks. It was the perfect sustainable system for growing our own food and I miss it so much. We watered our garden with rain water and fertilised it with the compost we produced from food scraps. I loved it sooo much - if you were following me on Instagram stories back then I used to take photos of our vegetable garden like, every day! It was the sustainability aspect of this house that I just loved. It felt like walking through our own little mini version of CERES' community garden. Seeing food in our fridge turn into food scraps which turned into compost which fed the garden which turned back into food. The day we started composting, our rubbish waste dropped by at least 30-50%. We went from full regular sized rubbish bins to half empty small sized rubbish bins. It was amazing how much waste we saved from sending to landfill, as well as the fact that all these food scraps weren't really considered 'waste' at all!Now, in our new place which I bought together with Tom, we've got a completely empty, clean slate to work with. There are a few raised beds which we're looking into converting into healthy vegetable patches and of course, having a composting system to go with it is the perfect pair. If you haven't already got a composting system at home, I thoroughly recommend it. A lot of councils these days have rebates and special discounts to go towards purchasing composters, bokashi bins (great for smaller apartments) and worm farms, so it's even more added incentive to invest in something that is really good for both your garden and the planet in the long run.And if you're new to composting, here are some quick tips on how it all works!

1. With compost bins, there are two types. The first type looks like an upside down bin covering the earth. The second is a freestanding tumbling bin. Get a compost tumbler if you can - they're a bit more pricey compared to the traditional type but work a more efficiently to keep out rats & bugs as well as create compost faster due to easier turning/aeration. The compost bin we have has two compartments, which is great so that you have two bins to work on - leave one to mature whilst you fill up the second.
2. Mix equal amounts of ‘green/wet’ waste such as kitchen scraps & freshly cut grass with ‘brown/dry’ waste such as leaves, twigs & paper.
3. It’s all about the ratio! Make sure it’s always slightly moist by balancing the two. If it's too 'wet', then add more 'dry' waste. If it's too 'dry', then add more green waste (or water).
4. Turn the composter every few days - this helps with aeration which in turn helps create compost faster!
5. It take take a few weeks to months to create compost, so do be patient. Once your mixture looks like a slightly moist soil product, then your compost is ready & turn into the soil as a great, FREE fertiliser for your garden.