Fast, Simple Composting

The looming fertilizer shortage is something that we all should be aware of, as well as the massive food shortage and food cost increase that will ensue. There has been a lot of discussion on both using natural fertilizers, and composting in order to improve food production. We ALL need to be working to establish reliable food production for our families, and without adding nutrients to the soil, we’re most likely going to see very subpar yields. It’s going to be tough to take care of any of the other potential issues we are training for (you are training, right?) if we’re weak and malnourished. Those beans, rice, MRE’s and freeze dried meals won’t last forever. Even in a true societal breakdown, we’re likely going to spend much more time providing for basic needs of food, water, and shelter than fighting.

One very easy way that we can add nutrients back to the soil is by composting food and scraps that would otherwise go to waste. Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my Grandparents, and one of the things I did was take out the previous day’s table scraps, coffee grounds, etc. to dump on the compost pile. Those scraps would be dumped, covered with some grass clippings, shredded leaves, etc. and covered with an old piece of plywood. That method worked, and produced some of the nicest compost imaginable (and some of the nicest, fattest fishing worms too) but it was a very slow way to compost. We throw away tons of valuable nutrients in our trash every day, and we are going to need to start using those nutrients without waiting months for them to compost.

Fast forward a few years, and we have all seen the compost tumblers that are available for a few hundred dollars. The advantage of a tumbler is that it will create useable compost much, much faster. Store bought tumblers are said to work really well- I personally don’t know, as I am not willing to spend the money to buy one, so I began looking for a less expensive way to accomplish the same job. A friend stumbled across instructions to build one from an old trash can, and has had very good results with it, so I wanted to put the idea up for anyone who can use it. I haven’t been able to find an online version of the article he used, but this one is the exact same concept.

Spend an hour to build one after work one day and give it a shot- and you might want do it before your food supply is dwindling away to nothing, as there is a learning curve. While you’re at it, make sure and get some heirloom seeds that grow well in your area, get some quality garden tools, etc.