This should have been easier!

So, the Green Johanna is assembled, placed and we’ve put in the basics.  Some things we learned:

1.  assemble it OUTSIDE – we were cold and did it in the kitchen, only to discover that it was too wide to fit through our 5-foot sliding glass doors.  We ended up having to take the bottom section off and re-attaching it.  Not a lot of fun for my husband and father in law.

2.  Have a few extra slightly longer, thicker screws handy.  My husband accidentally stripped one of the holes, and having the larger screw resolved that problem quickly.

3.  put the Johanna together without the screws, and check it on the inside to make sure all the grooves line up before adding the screws.

At long last, though, we did get it all together, and outside.

A New Frontier…the Green Johanna

Why the heck am I blogging about “hot” composting?  Well, it’s the latest chapter in my slow transformation from mindless consumer to mindful steward of my little patch of green earth.

The purpose of this blog is to chronicle my experiences with the Green Johanna – from setting it up, to using it, to the finished product.  I have no affiliation with the maker of this product, and while I hope that it proves to be as effective as promised, I’m reserving judgment!

There are worm composters (yuck!), rolling composters, tumblers, kitchen composters…its a bit much.   For about $250, plus free shipping, I found the Green Johanna.  The reason I chose that one over the rest: it supposedly can take all scraps, including meat, bones, dairy and paper.  All the others I found were only able to take vegetable and fruit scraps.    For about $15 bucks, I made my own composter that does that!

We already compost all the yucky stuff through the San Francisco composting program, and I was looking for an alternative that would simply re-direct our scraps to the back yard instead of to the curb.  Let’s hope the Green Johanna lives up to its promises!   The price was steep, so I did not make the choice lightly – I’ve been considering this for over 9 months.

It’s in a box in the kitchen, awaiting the time when I can set it up in the back yard.

I can’t wait!