Thursday Challenge: Broken Egg Shells
Today I was able to turn my compost for the first time since fall. During the winter the ground is frozen (and so is my compost) even when there is no blanket of snow covering the compost.
What can you identify in my compost? Why is that item good for the soil?
Thursday Challenge is a place for photographic fun and learning. This week’s theme is BROKEN: (Smashed, Worn Out, In Need of Repair, Ripped, Torn,…)
Lorri says
The egg shells would help aerate the compost, and also help keep it moist, with the shell "pockets". The vegetables would be high in nitrogen.
I have a compost, myself.
leoraw says
My understanding is that the egg shells additionally add calcium to the soil.
Does anyone know what the brownish black stuff is in the upper right corner?
Lorri says
I believe they are coffee grinds.
Ah, calcium, it makes sense.
Mojo says
I spy onion skin, coffee grounds, celery, carrots... it's a stock pot!
Well except for the coffee grounds anyway.
ramblingwoods says
Oh this reminds me that I want to start one. I do put out cooked egg shells for the birds to have them with egg laying..I can't see what is in your compost that hasn't already been mentioned
leoraw says
Most everything in the photo has been covered. Actually, there is the dark, shiny, bumpy skin in the upper left that hasn't been named.
One can also put human hair in a compost, but I've never had the guts to ask a hair dresser for human hair. Seaweed, if one happens to live by the sea, is supposed to be a good compost ingredient, too.
Raizy says
I don't understand composting. If you put a bunch of garbage outside in your garden, aren't you going to attract bugs and rodents?
leoraw says
Good point. If you cover it with dirt and don't include animal bones, no, not really. The animals like my garbage, not my compost. And they like food once it's grown. Sometimes I get little tiny flies if I haven't covered it, and I put more dirt on top, and bye, bye flies.
It does attract beautiful birds, however. They like to peck at the compost.
Janet says
egg shells, onion skins, green onion stems?
leoraw says
Yup, not a terribly complicated "I Spy"!
Terri - teelgee says
Nice! Broken eggshells didn't occur to me. I see eggshells (duh) purple onion skins and stems, old carrots, coffee grounds? Yummy stuff for the soil. I can't tell you specifically why it's good other than it composts down into lovely hummusy rich balanced soil! We love our compost - my partner calls it the sacred compost pile.
Jientje says
I don't know much about compost, but you made a great picture!
mary/theteach says
Leora, you had me hysterical laughing with your limerick - Excellent, excellent! I will post what every body wrote and create links to each person's site later today. Thanks so much for writing yours.
And since you're so GREEN doing composting I'll have to wish you HAPPY ST. PAT'S DAY! :)
leoraw says
Mary, you've got a great thing going with those limerick posts! I'm enjoying them. Maybe I should do a post on Gramin (sp?) someday, a Jewish humor song with silly homemade lyrics, kind of similar.
Here was my limerick that you inspired:
There once was a blogger called Mary
She proposed limericks with Tom Dick and Harry
Some were quite good
And rhymed like they should
But others didn't.
AscenderRisesAbove says
That is the prettiest compost I have ever seen!
princexswe says
Well, you have to break an egg to make an omelett ;-)
marLou says
I've been wanting to do a compost but been too lazy to start one. My bad.
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