At some point when the climate crisis became more known in social media, I ran across a twitter post claiming–I’m paraphrasing–that by composting you become the king of a kingdom.
Honestly, I can’t describe it any better than that. I own/control the land, but have given it over to my subjects. I feed them and, in turn, they have multiplied and spread, and brought others into the fold.
I haven’t conducted a real survey, but a glance shows my compost is populated by worms, pillbugs, beetles, grubs of beetles, centipedes and ants–that might otherwise be in my house!
True, it’s a micro world, but they are doing all the things any population does:
Spreading: I have an increase of insects everywhere in my garden. When the bug population boomed, they couldn’t all stay in the compost. Lift a pot and I see bugs scurry. Every. Single. Time.
Those outlying workers (here, a beetle, worm, centipede and pillbug) are churning and bettering the soil in these far lands, and I tell you, with Virginia clay, that’s a gardener’s dream.
Conducting trade: They carry stuff off–I’m not keeping track, but they must be to have spread. I carry stuff off–I harvest the compost and put it into new spots, particularly when I’m planting.
It’s good stuff!
Feeding others: Yeah, that might not be the worm’s intent, but I find salamanders everywhere in my garden, likely because there are so many worms and other invertebrates for them to eat.
I recently dug up this poor red-backed salamander while planting chives. (That’s a worm behind him.) Not injured, thankfully, but I immediately decided the chives could sit a bit high in the ground. Frogs also frequent our pond, and since we keep fish in it for mosquito control, all the pond insects are eaten, so the frogs must be feeding on garden insects. I do wish I’d see more toads.
It’s extremely satisfying to see my vegetable debris turn into something that supports life. And…it’s a bit addictive. I save every scrap of food debris that isn’t meat or bone. I’m only slightly embarrassed to say that this might include the dregs of seasonings in pickle juice, crumbs swept off the bread board and those noodles that escape the colander and land in the sink. On a recent trip, a relative and I were preparing lots of vegetarian fare at a place that didn’t have composting–and I brought it back, two trays generated over five days.
There are plenty of sites explaining how to compost–just search that on Pinterest. I put a few on my Earth Messages board. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Bins can be bought or homemade. Our local Soil and Water Conservation District sold them at cost, along with rain barrels, at their native tree and shrub sale in the spring. You had to place an order ahead, so it’s something to look into this winter.
But don’t wait for spring–just like we’re being told not to wait to do something–anything–about the climate crisis! Decomposing compost generates warmth for critters to work in the cold weather, supporting insect populations who need our help. And better to have that organic material in small quantities being broken down properly, rather than in plastic bags generating methane in our landfills!
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