A Love Letter to My Compost Bin

Love is in the air, and just a little less methane.

Last year, I set up a terracotta compost system in my backyard. It’s a beautiful system. I put food scraps in, cover them with coco peat, and mix it up about once a month. And it’s working. As each terracotta pot fills, I rotate the order of the pots, to allow the freshest food scraps to begin composting on top, while the bottom pot holds the oldest. While turning the material in each pot, I’ve come to find that the bottom pot isn’t food scraps any longer- it’s compost!

Look at that compost!

Compost is a bit of a labor of love when you think about it. You are going out of your way to give your food scraps a higher purpose than the landfill. By doing this, you are recognizing and appreciating all the resources that went into bringing food to your table: the energy to grow the food, the transit to the processor and the grocery, and even the energy your refrigerator uses to keep the food fresh for your consumption. That extra trip to your backyard is honoring those resources, and rewarding you for your effort and care. Your reward is a nutrient-rich compost, to restore your soil and make it easier to grow things you (or your backyard friends) need, like trees, vegetables, shrubs, and flowers.

I spread my compost on a patch of clay-heavy soil that I one day hope can become a native plant bed to provide much needed food and shelter for local love-birds and love-bugs alike. With all the cold and winter, I’m daydreaming about some colorful blooms and a bright spring ahead, and my compost bin is helping to make that happen.

Compost Blogger: Sam Plante