Black Gold

I MADE THIS. Yep, that's right! A full batch of wonderfully rich compost which to some gardeners is like black gold. Think it was hard to do and required lots of effort? NOPE. I got the gist from Young House Love and decided to try it. After about 6-8 months (because I completely forgot about it for a while and it got no attention), it still worked!

Here are the steps (listen carefully, this is rocket science):

1. get a large tub with a lid
2. drill a few holes in the bottom for drainage (I also drilled some in the lid, too, because you know, I had to get good use out of the drill since I had to go all the way into the garage to get it)
3. fill the tub about 1/2 of the way with dirt from your yard - doesn't have to be great dirt (ours in VA is full of clay
4. add a bunch of leaves (dry), shredded newspaper/paper (dry), even dryer lint (dry); then add vegetable/fruit scraps (wet), egg shells (wet), etc. You'll want to layer-dry-wet-dry-wet-dry (get the picture?)
5. cover with lid
6. put in shady location (too much sun makes it too hot and dry)
7. wait and wait for about a zillion days (flip it over a few times every once in a while)
8. open and enjoy some black gold!