Garden Recycling: Yes, No, yes, no, yes....

So, how do you start improving the environment and your soil?  No surprise—the answer is recycling garden and kitchen refuse in as many ways possible.  You know compost keeps you from straining landfill resources and will give you the soil of your dreams.  There are other garden castoffs that can also be recycled—and some that can’t. 

How many times have you been told about compost, the need to recycle and the ease of creating this black garden gold?    Believe it all!  You can truly change your gardening experience if you have sufficient compost to work into your red clay beds.  Besides changing soil structure, compost introduces micro-organisms that process organic material into chemicals that are accessible to plant roots. 

How do you start?  The easiest way is to find a place to keep your garden and kitchen wastes while they decompose into useable compost.  The place doesn’t have to be big or “special.”  Probably the most important feature is convenience.  You are not going to want to climb a big hill or walk to the far end of your garden just to deal with kitchen scraps or garden trash. 

Now you’ve gotten the kitchen-to-pile process down, the question remains, what should and what should not go into your compost pile?  This list is not exhaustive and there are folks who would disagree . . . but not folks who seek researched based information from the North Carolina State University [NCSU] website…!    

Mecklenburg County, NC, has very specific guidelines for yard waste collection.  Limbs no longer than five feet and with a diameter of less than four inches should be left in piles at the curb.  Same is true for brush.  Bigger logs or stumps will not be collected.  Leaves, garden residue or grass clippings can be left curbside in open plastic bags or open containers.  This last category should be going in your compost pile anyway.  Grass clippings left on the lawn decompose and return valuable nutrients to your grass.  All garden curbside pickup is sent to a county composting center where it is broken down into compost or mulch, and then sold.  If you have questions you ask them on a form at http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Solid+Waste/Forms/home.htm.

Now that you’re recycling plant material from your kitchen and your garden, let’s look at a number of other garden recycling opportunities you have.  Most every time you buy a plant, it comes in a pot.  Once you’ve planted your new treasure, check the bottom of the plastic pot.  Many have a one or two recycle triangle.  Those empty pots can go curbside with your household recyclables.   

Are you inundated with plant, garden and seed catalogs?  Your recycle bin is the place for them.   

Unfortunately the bulky item pickup service of the county will not handle some large garden garbage you wish to see disappear.  Items such as dirt, rocks, fencing posts with concrete attached, chain link fencing, railroad ties or bricks have to be collected by a private waste hauler or taken to the Foxhole landfill in South Charlotte (704-752-5827).  Call to find out fees, or for more information, go to:  http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/LUESA/Solid+Waste/Landfill+Information/landfillfacts.htm.    

From NCSU, our state’s great research institution, here’s what you should avoid putting in your home’s compost pile:

• Human or pet feces – yuck, right? 

• Meat, bones, grease – rats will come to feast

• Whole eggs - crushed egg shells are fine

• Dairy products – again, attracts rodents

• Citrus peel – takes too long to decompose

• Nut shells – slow to break down

• Corn husks, cobs, stalks – again, slow to become compost

• Diseased plants – unless your pile is very hot, the disease organisms may survive

• Weed seeds – unless pile is hot, you may find yourself battling the weeds again

• Charcoal – resists decay

• Coal ashes – contain all sorts of toxic elements you don’t want in your soil

• Petroleum products – toxic, toxic, toxic!  These need to be brought to one of four county hazardous waste facilities: North Mecklenburg Recycling Center, Hickory Grove Recycling Center, West Mecklenburg Recycling Center and Foxhole Recycling Center.  

• Call 311 for more information. 

POP QUIZ

Please take this one-question test to see what you’ve gained from reading this article: 

Which of the following can you make happen in your garden this year?   

a.  A soft rain whenever your plants are thirsty

b.     An early spring that is not cut short by a late frost

c.  Well-drained garden beds, rich in nutrients and easy to work.

If you marked “a,” you’re a lovely dreamer.

If you marked “b,” you’re an optimistic gardener.

If you marked “c,” you know the magic of compost.

 Here’s hoping that a, b and c are all part of your upcoming gardening experiences.   

So now you are prepared to make the world cleaner by recycling, your soil more friable with compost, and your gardening more pleasurable each time you sink a shovel into the ground.   Happy gardening!  © Pam Crown 2010 all rights reserved