I’m amused by the near breathless excitement some garden bloggers have when talking about their compost.
I expect poetry and songs next. Aw, shoot. Let me go first.
When I compare thee to a summer’s day
Your fragrance is of fields of hay
And in my fingers I feel your wealth
And to my flowers…
What rhymes with wealth? Oh yeah. Health.
And to my flowers you give health.
Okay, all kidding aside, I love compost too. That love doesn’t lean toward the romantic side so much as the greedy side. I want more, MORE, MORE!
So it was with some interest in reading Joe Lamp’l’s (not a typo – his name is Lamp’l) book The Green Gardener’s Guide that I have been tossing perfectly good compost materials in the trash.
Lamp’l says I can also compost vacuum cleaner bag dust and even the bag, paper towels and rolls, coffee grounds and filters, cotton and wool rags, dryer lint, hair and fur. Hah! Finally a use for all that loose dog hair! You can also compost newspapers, although it’s best to shred them.
I know that most newspapers are now printed with soy-based ink, so they are fairly safe composting material. What I’m a bit leery of is his assertion that you can compost clean office paper. Does that mean clean as in there are no jelly donut stains on them? Or clean as in not having been printed on?
I still have to print out reams and reams of statistical output to write reports. I always use both sides of the paper. But still, I have a good amount of paper waste as a result. Is it safe to shred and compost paper that has been printed with laser or inkjet toner? Given my desire for a healthy and mostly organic garden, is it safe to introduce these into the mix?
I have tried some searching and found an interesting, if not authoritative, exchange over at Gardenweb.
What do you think? To compost or not to compost? Any experts out there?
Robin
According to the Nature Conservancy, fewer Americans are spending time in outdoor activities, which could have a serious impact on our environment.
This was one of the stories on the NBC evening news last night.
The Nature Conservancy conducted research that revealed Americans are spending more time with indoor activities, such as the Internet, electronic games and movies and less time at outdoor activities such as camping, fishing and hiking. In fact, the percentage of the American population enjoying the outdoors is at an all-time low.
Although I haven’t seen the research, my own observations of how people spend their leisure time tells me this is probably true.
The reason this is worrisome is that with fewer people spending less time at nature-based activities, nature will become unappreciated and unexplored. If we learn everything we know about nature from the television, our first-hand understanding and appreciation of the importance of clean air and healthy soil and forests and abundance wildlife is diminished.
It’s interesting, too, that participation in outdoor activities is down at the same time there are record numbers of people who are overweight and obese.
I wonder how many of us consider visiting a local nature park, hiking or going to the seashore among the weekend entertainment options of movies and eating out? I know the last time I suggested a hike to Calvert Cliffs State Park to a friend-who-shall-not-be-named I was met with the “you must be mad” expression. We went to an Indian restaurant instead.
So what do we do to reverse this trend? How can we as individuals encourage outdoor activities, particularly those that respect the environment and encourage conservation efforts?
Robin
[Because I am in no position to preach to anyone about the environment, this is an open letter to myself on Blog Action Day.]Dear Robin,
You joined Slow Food USA. You have written about your yearning for simplicity. You have taken some baby steps toward environmentally sound practices and more healthful living. But I believe it’s time to stop joining, talking and taking baby steps.
It occurs to me that true change can only occur if you just…slow…down. Stop working seven days a week. Stop rushing around and living without, well, living. Stop being so impatient to get everything done right now. Live mindfully about what you are doing every moment and about the consequences of your choices and actions.
Slowing down will be good for you and for your family. What’s more, it will be good for the environment.
I will give you some examples of some of your personal actions that contribute to the environmental crisis we’re facing:
-You sometimes drive when you can walk. Do you really need to move your SUV from one end of the shopping center to the other as you do your errands? Can’t you walk there and back?
-You still use products such as weed killers and harsh cleaning products because they provide a fast, short-term solution, although they add little drips to the stream of pollution that is killing the earth.
-You drive past local farmers’ produce stands and buy the same produce at the grocery stores that is imported from the other side of the country–or the other side of the world.
-You still buy some ready-made foods rather than baking your own bread, making your own cheese or growing what you need with methods that don’t require chemicals, additives or being shipped from far away.
-You still throw clothes into the dryer rather than air drying them in the sun and fresh air.
-You waste energy by doing such things as leaving the computer on all night long so you won’t have to wait to read your email in the morning.
-You haven’t taken seriously the environmental cry to reduce, reuse and recycle.I could go on, but I don’t want to embarrass you here.
By slowing down, you will walk more gently on the earth. You can make some healthy changes that will mean better, healthier foods, less stress from hurrying around and more time with family and friends. You might also save some money and sleep better because you’ve gotten a bit more exercise (and, uh, saved some money).
Nuff said. Go out and do better now.
Robin
