Courtesy : www.hgtv.com
Composting entrepreneur
“I went back for a second serving after hastily eating the first plate, but ended up throwing away almost all of it. That was sort of the light bulb moment. I wondered what happened to all of that waste (from myself and the other patrons) and once I started researching food waste in America, I realized there was an opportunity,” says Blake, who grew up helping out in the family garden each summer.
Image courtesy of EcoScraps
The EcoScraps company transforms bulk food waste into usable compost.
Why not turn waste into dollar signs, thought Blake? After much trial and error (lesson learned: baked goods and Chinese food make terrible compost), at the tender age of 23 Blake launched EcoScraps which turns food waste into useful compost. Today the company sources more than 10,000 tons of food waste annually from businesses including Costco, Target and grocery stores close to the EcoScraps facilities in Utah, Arizona, California, Oregon, Texas and Tennessee. The company is doing its part to reduce the 30 million tons of food waste in America each year — half of all the food produced. EcoScraps’ compost and potting mix, liquid compost and plant food are available online and at Target stores nationwide and many Lowe’s, Home Depot, Sam’s Club and Costco locations. Find your local retailer here.
Three Reasons to Compost
- Compost delivers a balanced blend of nutrients plants need to grow.
- Unlike fertilizers, which act quickly and can burn plants, compost is gentle and slow to release.
- Compost adds organic matter to your soil which allows for more oxygen penetration and greater water retention.
Tips for the Home Composter
- Good compost starts by increasing the surface area of what you are composting– meaning you should chop everything up as much as you can.
- A big difference between rotting and composting is the temperature at which it takes place; you want your compost pile to be hot (120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit).
- If your compost pile is less than 3ft x 3 ft x 3ft it will not get hot enough unless it is in some sort of heat absorbent container (like a metal garbage can etc.).
- The ideal carbon to nitrogen ratio is 30:1. Carbons are your “brown” materials (leaves, newspaper, twigs, etc. — these are typically dry) and nitrogen is found in your “green” material (food, grass, etc. – these are typically wet).
- Layer your pile brown, green, brown, green etc. (it is like making lasagna).
- The compost pile needs to be moist. Here is an easy home test for your moisture content: Grab a handful of compost and squeeze it. If water squeezes from it and drips from your hand it is too wet. If it doesn’t drip, but keeps it shape when poked it is good to go. If it falls apart when poked it is too dry and will need to be watered. If your pile smells like ammonia and is leaking, then it is probably too wet — I’d suggest adding some carbon additives like dry leaves to solve the problem.
- Your pile needs to breathe. Make sure you turn it frequently. If it smells bad you need to turn it more. But don’t worry, if you don’t turn your piles they will still decompose, it will just take a little longer.
- How do you know if your compost is finished? A quick test to see if the compost is ready is to take a handful and seal it in a baggie for 48-72 hours. Open it, if it smells like dirt, it’s ready to go; otherwise the pile will need longer to sit and mature.
My Lottery Dream Home
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Martha Stewart Coming to Discovery+ in New Series ‘Martha Gets Down and Dirty’
In her new discovery+ series, Martha Stewart preps her farm for warm weather, mixes up a few cocktails and chats it up with celebrity friends. Guests throughout the season include Seth Meyers, Kim Kardashian West, Tiffany Haddish, Al Roker, Ellen Pompeo, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Brooke Shields and more.
Martha Stewart comes to Discovery+ in new series Martha Gets Down and Dirty.
Related To:
EntertainingFarmhouseGardeningHome TypesMartha Stewart
Trusted lifestyle expert Martha Stewart will let her hair down and roll up her sleeves to share her gardening know-how and lifestyle and entertainment tips in the new discovery+ series Martha Gets Down and Dirty.
Available to stream beginning Thursday, July 1, 2021, the eight-episode series stars the Emmy® award-winning television personality and The New York Times bestselling author as she preps her Bedford, New York, farm for warmer weather with help from her right-hand gardener Ryan McCallister. Martha also will bring her iconic decor and entertainment ideas to life alongside longtime friend and creative director Kevin Sharkey.
Throughout the series, her superfans—as well as a few of her famous friends, including Kim Kardashian West, Seth Meyers, Tiffany Haddish, Al Roker, Ellen Pompeo, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Brooke Shields, Alyson Hannigan and Tamron Hall — will virtually pop in to get in on the fun and receive valuable counsel for their own home and garden projects.
Fans can binge the first three episodes of Martha Gets Down and Dirty ondiscovery+ starting July 1 — with new episodes available to stream every Thursday through August 5.
“I’ve lived on this farm for almost 20 years—don’t let the manicured lawns and picture-perfect gardens fool you — there’s always SO much to do,” said Martha. “I’m going to take you behind-the-scenes as I get my hands dirty around my property, as well as help my celebrity friends and surprise some unsuspecting callers. Get ready, because we’re about to get down and dirty.”
During the premiere episode, Martha gathers tools from her state-of-the-art equipment shed and makes her way around her 150-acre farm to trim, prune and remove dead trees across her property. Next, she receives a video-call from aspiring gardener Kim Kardashian West and teaches he
