My Pet Fungi
A while back, I started a back porch compost bin. I bought a cheap plastic container with a lid that snaps securely in place and used a screwdriver heated on the stove to punch scores of holes into the container to allow oxygen in. Then, I took all of our paper documents that needed to be shredded and used those as my base “brown” material, and we’ve been adding our fruit scraps, veggie stems, and coffee grounds dutifully to the pile ever since. At first I was adding material to the pile every day, but now I just kind of save up my materials until I’ve got enough to justify aerating the pile.
This time, it took me a whole week to build up enough scraps to fill a small bowl, and this evening, I cracked open my plastic container and took in a surprising sight. We have fungi! Now, while some of you undoubtedly think that this sounds like a terrible thing, fungus is actually one of a composter’s best companions. Fungi and bacteria are what break down the materials into useful compost soil that I can use as potting soil or as a fertilizer. The most impressive fungus in my pile appeared to be a large multi-headed mushroom. It stood 20-25 cm tall, and it really stood out from the patches of mold.
Since starting up the compost pile on the back porch of our apartment and recycling all materials that can be recycled in our area, we have reduced our household waste to about a quarter of what we previously threw out. I count this as just as big a victory as switching our power over to renewable energy.
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