Post from the Past: Part 5 (Dirty Business and Shower Curtains)

This blog content was originally posed on July 26, 2008 on my Myspace Blog. I wanted to share.
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I just started a compost pile today. I half ass started one a few months ago behind the garden, but it wasn't actually in a pile per se, and after almost 2 months nothing was turning into dirt. I attended a green meeting a few weeks ago and at the end they raffled off a "back yard composter." It basically looked like a small garbage can. I didn't win it, but I have a few spare cans at my house, so, I looked it up online. Composting is pretty simple. Here's the gist of it.

There are four key words to remember: Green, Brown, Air and Water.

Green and Brown: The ratio should be between 5:1 and 8:1 Brown to Green. Green is anything moist and quick to spoil. Examples include grass cuttings, weeds, kitchen scraps, etc. Brown is anything dried out, like leaves, that will become a good food source for the organisms that will decompose the green materials. If you have a thermometer, the compost should reach 150 to 160 degrees. If the compost doesn't heat up within 24 hours, then you need more green matter. To compost faster, be sure to cut up both green and brown items so that they can break down easier.

*Pet feces, diary products and meats/eggs should not be added to compost because of potential diseases or attraction of rodents.

Air and Water: The green and brown ingredients need to be moist and well oxygenated in order to break down. The trick is to add water (or other liquids that you would otherwise throw out: stale wine or beer, old soup, etc). You will also need to stir the compost every couple of days to ensure that new oxygen is reaching throughout. If you have your compost in a garbage can, you can also shake or roll the can instead of stirring.

That's pretty much it. I'm told that there are books out there on expert composting. They cover such topics as cold vs. hot composting, what items compost best together, etc. I'm not that ambitious to read up on it yet, but if I do, I'll be sure to share.

So, that was the Dirty Business... now what's up with the shower curtains? A friend heard on the radio that studies have been done on vinyl shower curtains. That horrible chemical smell you notice the first few days after opening a brand new shower curtain is actually toxic. Here is an article published by University of Tennessee Knoxville. There are several alternatives to vinyl, including bamboo shower curtains, waxed cloth curtains, and glass doors. If you can't afford those options, Bed Bath & Beyond sells "Eco-Friendly Non-Chlorine Vinyl" curtains.