Smart Gardening.

It's taken me a month and a half, but I'm finally watching the "Smart Gardening" DVD that's been sitting with some other forgotten things. It's a disc prepared by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works for those interested in home composting.

This is a fairly simple thing to start doing in the backyard. Basically, you are turning organic waste into nutrient-rich material for your garden. It keeps some stuff from hitting the landfills and because the compost retains moisture well, you're helping water conservation efforts.

If you live in Los Angeles County, check with your city on getting a free or a reduced-price compost bin. Many cities offer a Saturday crash course to teach you how the process works and you can get a bin to take home. Or, they have a copy of this DVD I'm watching now. You sign up for the disc, watch it, and upon returning it you get the bin.

The program isn't as dull as I expected. The production value is surprising pretty good. It's thorough and lengthy too but they do a good job of breaking it down. Here are the chapters:

- Overview
- Backyard Composting
- Worm Composting
- Grass Recycling
- Water-wise Gardening
- Fire- wise Gardening

Most people will only need the "Backyard Composting" chapter, but if you're concerned with fires and reducing water expenses (as we are in the Inland Empire) it's worth checking the entire program. I guarantee you will learn something new and useful from it and be able to cut some costs in your home upkeep.

Even if you live outside L.A. County, it's worth checking into what you can do to reduce waste (resources, money). San Bernardino County does not offer this composting bin deal (as far as I know) but if you check the county website you'll find a lot of other useful information. For example, choosing native plants in your landscaping--always a great idea no matter where you live because they are beautiful and won't demand unreasonable amounts of water to live. I'd recommend the composting to anyone with a backyard. You don't need a green thumb to get started. If you can't find info and need help with the composting, get in touch with me. I watched the composting chapter twice.