Hi, my name is Kim and I’m a non-gardener.

Eating locally has really translated into eating a lot more vegetables this summer.  About three weeks into the new adventure, we realized we were throwing away a really great resource as we peeled and chopped and seeded those great veggies into the trash.  And, we had this pickle barrel.

So, the ever-supportive, patient husband that I have, fashioned a compost-mixer out of it!  We (I should say, he) dump scraps in the top, and every once in a while it gets a good turn.  Fun!

Now, it seems counterintuitive to me at this point that we didn’t compost before.  After all, we have a yard, we have an inherited perennial “area” (to call it a bed would be giving my gardening enthusiasm a little too much credit), and we grow a few tomatoes in buckets every year.  Why did it take so long to start composting, then?

I think because I’m one of the few local eaters that I’ve met in the blogosphere that doesn’t have a garden of my own.  I’ve got the land for it, I’ve got the extra time in the summer.  But I frequent farmstands and rely on my CSA instead.  Why?

Bugs.

I know that not all bugs are bad for things.  I have enough college credits in biology to understand the way we’re all connected, even the creepy crawlers.  But darn it.  They’re gross.

It’s a serious problem, really.  I rely on my husband to kill things inside, and when confronted with beetles or spiders or those gross hornworms on tomatoes, I just pretend I don’t see them, and I do that by avoiding all real contact with the things.  This requires limiting my digging and outdoor plant care.

I feel this is hypocritical, and frankly, I’m kind of embarassed.  Perhaps my new compost will change my mind next spring!