How small to chop up kitchen scraps?
I get lots of melon rinds, large lettuce leaves, grapefruit halves and such from the deli's in our building. How small do I need to chop these items? I've been putting the lettuce leaves in there as is but I've been cutting the rinds and grapefruits down to 1"x1" pieces (give or take) . Do they need to be smaller? Thanks!!!! Anna
Heck, they don't even have to be as small as you're cutting them!
Some people just toss stuff in whole; I like to cut it down a bit. If I have a lot of stuff, I've been known to stand over the compost bin with pruning shears, chopping stuff into the bin. So it's definitely a rough-cut, not a fine-cut, situation.
I just tear lettuce leaves into thirds maybe.
You actually do not want everything to be of uniform size unless you're turning it quite often. Irregular sizes will help support air pockets, increasing the oxygen supply for the critters who are actually changing the garbage into gold.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Some people just toss stuff in whole; I like to cut it down a bit. If I have a lot of stuff, I've been known to stand over the compost bin with pruning shears, chopping stuff into the bin. So it's definitely a rough-cut, not a fine-cut, situation.
I just tear lettuce leaves into thirds maybe.
You actually do not want everything to be of uniform size unless you're turning it quite often. Irregular sizes will help support air pockets, increasing the oxygen supply for the critters who are actually changing the garbage into gold.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
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