Window Sill Compost: Did it work?

my window sill compost

That's the question now, did my window sill compost project even work?!

Hard to say! To be honest, this was not an actual compost pile since it was not exposed to insects, heat, and moisture as a "normal" compost pile would be (remember I live in the city), so there was no real degradation that took place, outside of the drying of the ingredients.

Nevertheless, I assume that while it may have had different effects, that it had at least some sort of effect on my plants. What you see pictured above is the end result of the ingredients dried, crushed, and mixed together. I then mixed this in with the soil in each pot. If nothing else, this should have provided my soil with a lot of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, and other trace minerals.

Due to the construction project on my building, my vegetables are less than ideal this year, so it's really hard to say if the compost helped or not, but I like to think it did!

I just stumbled upon this article on Apartment Therapy about making an odorless "true" compost bin for indoors, something to consider for next year.

How about you - have you tried adding food scraps to your planters and had either success or regrets?

Windowsill Compost

...well, not *exactly*, but along those lines!

As it's finally warming up and the below-freezing temps at night are starting to subside (and are hopefully now old news), I've been preparing some homemade and recycled nutrients to mix into my soil in my pots and planters for this seasons garden! I'd mentioned wanting to do this in this previous post, in which you can also get some more info on soil and composting.

my window sill compose

As you can see, I laid out a paper towel to let the items dry on their own. My kitchen seems dry enough that the banana peel is not molding, just shriveling up. I also washed some egg shells, which I will crush up before adding to the soil. I also have some old loose tea leaves (left) and coffee grounds drying as well. Not pictured are some other vegetable scraps left over from cooking (and I've been cooking a lot of vegetables lately!) which I will also dry and add to the soil.

I'm not going to overload the planters with these items since I'm not yet sure how much they will decompose, attract insects, or more importantly smell once they're doing their work fertilizing my growing plants! I don't think my neighbors would approve of a garbage pit next to their balcony, ha! If things go well, I may add a bit more later in the season, or next year.

Excited to see if my vegetables grow even more healthily and productive this year!!

The Dirt on Soil: DIY!

I recently went to my local Max Bahr, a Menard's/Home Depot type of store with all the possible home fixtures and building supplies you can imagine, including a garden center, as part of my spring fever splurge! It's still pretty early to really stock up too much, but I did get a few packages of soil and some seeds (needed more cherry tomatoes) to start things out, as well as a few flower plants. While they (the flowers) are supposedly edible, I don't know if I'll eat them - I just like to have that splash of color between all the greens once things are growing out there, and for the time being they're just something living outside to look at!

some soil I mixed yesterday...

Soil: the Salt of the Earth
Speaking of which, I've been thinking about soil and balcony gardening recently (now in the planing stages is the ideal time to think about the basis of container gardening, the soil!), mainly due to a poor soil purchase last year which I'm sure was the reason for some plants not growing or producing. Coming from a childhood in the country, I always have thought it to be kinda silly that I have to buy "the earth" from the store for my balcony, yet so it is!

But...
The benefit is the following: you aren't "stuck" with whatever soil your land is made of! You have free reign to decide what kind of soil suits you and your (various) plants' needs. Last year I ended up getting really cheap potting soil made for flowers, but it was too moist (held too much moisture, didn't allow for good drainage, which is absolutely vital for container gardens) for most of my plants, just too dense. Despite not having had rain for days here now, the soil is still sopping wet - I can practically squeeze the water out of it! Yuck!

DIY Mixing
I've recently seen about ways to mix your own soil for each plant, or even household scraps you can use to enrich the soil - very important for containers since they don't have a whole lot of ground to feed them. Composting isn't just for those with land! Here are a few things you can add to enrich your soil:

1. Coffee grounds - contains the all-important nutrient nitrogen as well as other trace minerals. Start by just adding a few tablespoons for each long planter (mine are about 2 feet long), mixing it into the soil. 
2. Egg shells - you've probably heard this one before! Make sure to wash and let them dry out first, then smash or pulverize them. They've got lots of calcium for your plants, just mix in with the soil or sprinkle on the ground near the plants.
3. Banana peels - lots of potassium for your plants! I'd be a little cautious with this one on your balcony since you probably don't want to invite a bug problem to your building, so maybe cut up the peel in pieces and add a few per planter to the bottom. Worth a shot!
4. Old herbs or grass clippings - just mix in with the soil, but make sure that the clippings do not contain any diseased plant material that could ruin your whole planter!
5. Tea / tea bags - again, cut up and mix into the soil, making sure not to add too much, just a few tablespoon for a long planter. 
6. Think crop rotation is just for farmers? I beg to differ - since beans are nitrogen-fixing, I will put some of last year's bean soil in my other planters to give them a vitamin boost! We'll see if it works/helps. Of course I will still add some new soil as well. I try to add at least some new soil to the planters each season, or completely replace it if it seems that the roots took over the whole pot - don't want to starve my plants!
7. DO NOT add any kind of fat or animal scraps!!
8. You can add stones or anything that won't rot to the bottom of a pot to allow for more drainage!

A few related links: kitchen scrap fertilizer (tlc green living tips), make your own compost (diy life), and composting your food scraps (david suzuki foundation).

Keep in mind some plants are very picky about their soil, so you may have to experiment (some chili peppers, orchids, etc.)

Have fun playing in the dirt! And don't forget to find a suitable liquid or solid fertilizer for later on!