It all began with Orange Pekoe. My brother's mom-in-law dropped in at my flat yesterday - my first "visitor", although, of course, everyone else has been wandering in and out generally. This was a proper visit. We had tea and all. I made the tea with orange pekoe that I'd bought recently. I also have the strong CTC variety but since this was a late-evening cup, I thought I'd choose a lighter brew.
It's a leaf tea and after draining, the leaves looked so nice and, well, leafy, that I didn't feel like chucking them. My thoughts went back to the compost bin I'd had in Singapore, when I lived for a short while in a house with a garden. All one needs is a bin with a hole for drainage. My kitchen use is still small-scale, so I wouldn't even need a "bin". A tin would do, I thought. And there was one, just waiting for this opportunity - a steel tin that had become corroded in a spot on its bottom. I've bunged in the tea leaves and this morning's coffee grounds, then some potato and onion peels, and kept the tin on the terrace where it gets ample sunlight. The tin's lid serves as catchment for any liquid that drains out. I need to ensure it remains damp, and that Kaushalya - my daily - doesn't throw it out! A few weeks, a bit of turning, and if the birds leave it alone it should be a nice, dark mulch. If it fails I can always bung it at the bottom of a tree or one of the plants in my sis-in-law's garden.
If it works, I'll broadcast the results!
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Update: The compost is indeed a rich, dark mulch. From coffee filter paper to onion peels to coriander roots - all has been assimilated. (Note to self, take a picture.)
ReplyDeleteAll I did was turn it now and then, drizzle a bit of water over it when I filled the birds' water dish, and that was it. Little crawlies appeared in the compost all by themselves, doing their good work; and though seeds from the contents of the bin sprouted now and then, the birds made short work of the tender shoots. The birds also have a bad habit of repeatedly stealing whatever stick I used for stirring the compost (who would have thought, right?), so now I use a chopstick, rinse it after every stir, and keep it inside the kitchen, away from the birds.