Switch Off Your Garbage Disposal and Save Water

Instead of water and money going down the drain, toss those meat and dairy scraps into the garbage and turn those coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit scraps into a valuable soil amendment by starting a compost pile. A compost pile is an easy way to save water, money, and improve your garden and landscape. With holiday cooking here, it's a perfect time to start a compost pile. Collect your carrot peels, onion skins, and used tea bags in a recycled coffee can with a tight fitting lid or purchase an eye pleasing counter top or under-counter compost container. There are plenty of styles from which to choose. Of course when your container is full, you'll want to add it to your compost pile where your kitchen food scraps will breakdown into a nutrient rich humus - a wonderful fertilizer and mulch for your garden and landscape plants.

A compost pile requires the right amount of carbon - for example shredded newspaper, nitrogen - like kitchen scraps, soil, moisture, and air to maintain the breakdown process. There maybe enough moisture in the kitchen scraps you've collected to keep the breakdown process going. If not, how about using your graywater instead of using water from the hose. The Tucson Organic Gardeners and the Master Gardeners at Pima County Cooperative Extension have resources and information on composting to help you get started. Check your local library for resources as well.

Composting with worms is an alternative to a compost pile; it doesn't require as much space and requires just enough water to keep the worms moist. It's a good solution for folks with small or no yards or folks concerned about compost piles attracting wildlife. The worms do all the work and the result is a very valuable soil amendment. There are plenty of resources available to get you started with both composting methods.

Before you know you it, your plants will be happy, you'll save water and money, because you decided not to flip that garbage disposal switch!