Veggie Gardener» Simple Composting

How To Make Your Own Compost

Tee — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 02:17:28 +0000

Many times when starting your own vegetable garden, you begin with less than perfect soil. The great news is that you can easily remedy this issue by making your own compost. Compost is an organically rich material made from organic matter that is allowed to decompose. The finished product is a dark soil-like material packed full of nutrients and beneficial microorganisms.

Making your own compost does not require any special equipment or tools; just the debris from your yard and vegetable scraps from the kitchen. Composting reduces landfill wastes and will decrease the need for fertilizers in your vegetable garden. Here are five basic steps for making your own compost.

Choose A Proper Location

When starting a compost pile, take into account the location of the pile. You want to locate it as close to the vegetable garden as possible in an area that is level and drains well. This will make transporting the finished compost to the vegetable garden much easier and allow for good drainage. The compost pile will not heat up properly if it’s too damp.

The area should also be convenient for adding new materials to the pile. Try to place the compost pile near a water supply so that you can moisten the pile on those hot, dry days.

Make sure to locate the pile in an area that is not unsightly for you or your neighbors. You don’t want the compost pile to be an ugly eyesore in your backyard.

Allow For Heat

As mentioned above, you must have proper heat for the compost pile to decompose into usable compost. If the compost pile lacks heat it will not decompose leaving you with just a pile of debris. You can improve heat and decomposition by building your compost pile on top of a screen-covered wooden pallet. You can also dig out a small pit and lay wood or metal supports across it to hold a screen. Build your pile on top of the screen. This allows for good circulation, improved drainage and a steaming hot compost pile.

Adding The Ingredients

Place twigs, branches and limbs at the bottom of the pile. This will also increase air flow and aid decomposition. The next layer should consist of equal parts of green and brown materials. Green materials are fruit wastes, untreated grass clippings, seaweed or kelp, vegetable peelings and coffee grounds. Brown materials include most tree leaves, corn cobs and stalks, straw and hay, wood chips and paper (like paper grocery bags).

Between each layer sprinkle soil to give the pile a dose of beneficial microorganisms. They will be the ones that perform the decomposition dirty work. Make sure to moisten the pile to the consistency of a damp cloth or sponge.

Turn or Rotate The Pile

Rotating or turning the pile frequently will increase air flow to the middle of the pile speeding up the decomposition of the compost. Use a broom handle to poke holes in the pile to give the inside a breath of fresh air. Turn the pile with a garden fork when it begins to cool. You should move debris that is not fully decomposed into the center of the pile.

Finishing The Compost

It can typically take anywhere from three months to two years to produce finished compost. The more attention you give your compost pile the better it will produce. Frequently turning the pile, adding the right mix of ingredients and maintain the correct moisture level will help to speed up the entire composting process.

Compost is ready to use when the dark, rich compost easily crumbles in your hand.

How do you make your own compost?

Do you use a compost pile or a tumbler?

I’d love to hear about your composting process!

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Add Fallen Leaves To Your Garden Soil

Tee — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:00:28 +0000

Although most of the country is in the middle of winter, there are still some southern areas that are dealing with raking leaves. Unfortunately, I was not able to get outside much during the fall, so my leaf-raking duties have gotten very behind. I would like to tell you what I do with my fallen leaves, and how I apply them to my garden space.

Mow Your Leaves, Don’t Rake

Many people have different methods of tackling their fallen leaves, but I like to mow my leaves using a mulching blade on the lawnmower. I also use the bag attachment to catch all the mower discharge, or as I sometimes say, the mower goodies.

Once the mower bag gets full, I dump the contents into my garden space – roughly spreading it out as I go. When I have finished mowing the whole yard, I then come back and and mow over the leaves that I placed in the garden again. This will help to chop up the leaves a bit more finer.

At this time, I dump the bag contents back into the garden again, and try to spread it out as evenly as possible. By now my garden has a nice layer of chopped up fallen leaves and grass clippings.

Soak It Down

I take a water hose and spray the area down, making sure to thoroughly soak the leaves. Wetting the leaves will help to speed up the decomposition, and keep them from blowing away in case the wind picks up. Now I just let the mulched-up leaves sit and “ferment” for a while – usually about a month.

Gardener’s Gold

At this point the leaves are beginning to decompose, and adding valuable nutrients to the garden soil. When it gets closer to Spring (and planting time), I will use a garden fork to gently loosen the soil, and mix in the decomposing leaves.

Adding your fallen leaves can add beneficial microbes to your soil, and give those handy earthworms a nice treat when they become active in the spring.

So the next time you start bagging up those fall leaves, try adding some to your garden for an extra garden soil boost come Spring.

Cons To Spreading Leaves In The Garden

Some gardeners do not approve of walking on your garden soil because it compacts the soil. Compacting the soil makes the soil more difficult to work, and also makes it more difficult for plant roots to grow. I wouldn’t recommend holding a game of flag football in your garden space, but just a little walking shouldn’t do too much damage. Just try to limit as much walking on it as possible.

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Compost Can Improve Your Soil’s Health

Tee — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:34:34 +0000

Adding compost to your garden soil will help to improve just about any soil type – whether it is clay, sand, or silt. There are two things that unhealthy soils lack: microorganisms and organic materials. Truthfully, you need the organic materials in order to attract the microorganisms.

Remember the movie Field of Dreams? “Build it and they will come”

It is pretty much the same for those beneficial microorganisms. Enrich the soil with quality organic materials, and the microorganisms will follow. One of the most beneficial organisms found in garden soil is the earthworm. Soil is its own small ecosystem, each participant relying on the other in order to form perfect gardening harmony. Take away one factor, and the balance of your soil’s health can get out of whack.

There is one common amendment that gardeners can add to their garden soil that is invaluable for keeping that balance – compost. Here are some ways that compost adds to the health of your soil:

Encourages the formation of properly-sized aggregates which improves drainage, controls compaction, and prevents water run-off

Conserves water due to better water retention

Provides natural micro and macro-nutrients, which eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers, reducing pollution

Stabilizes and sustains soil pH levels which will promote better nutrient availability to plants

Improves moisture retention in sandy soils to reduce leaching and water loss

Provides for better root penetration in clay soils

Stimulates better overall root development due to improved soil structure, porosity, and density

Controls or suppresses soil-borne plant pathogens that may lead to plant disease

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30 Unusual Items You Can Compost

Tee — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 03:33:16 +0000

The next time you are throwing an item in the trash, think about whether you can compost it instead. There are many things that can be added to your compost pile, and later used to grow some great tasting vegetables or herbs. Everyone that is familiar with composting knows that things like grass clippings, and dead tree limbs are great additions to a compost pile, but what about some ordinary items from around the house?

There are many things you can add to your compost pile that you may never think about, here are 30 such items:

Pet fur

Hair from a hairbrush

Fingernail/toenail clippings

Pet toe nail clippings

Dry pet food

Droppings and newspaper from bird cages

Fish food flakes

Alfalfa pellets or hay used to feed rabbits

Vacuum cleaner fluff

Dryer lint

Cotton balls(Use the 100% cotton balls; avoid using the synthetic types)

Coffee grounds

Coffee filters

Paper bags (shredded)

Egg shells (It is best to microwave or heat shells in the oven for 10 minutes prior to composting> This will kill any bacteria such as salmonella)

Used paper towels (avoid using paper plates that are heavily stained from meats or dairy products)

Used paper plates (avoid using paper plates that are heavily stained from meats or dairy products)

Dust from dusting

Ashes from a fireplace or barbeque grill

Some leather items (avoid using leathers that have dyes or other colorings)

Old paper back books (just the pages with black & white print; remove glossy color-printed covers)

Newspaper

Toilet paper rolls

Small, thin cardboard boxes (like mac & cheese or Hamburger Helper boxes that are torn into small peices)

Tea bags

Cooked plain rice

Wine corks (avoid using synthetic corks. Make sure it is real cork)

Stale cereal

Old Christmas trees (shredded or chipped)

Old Jack-O-Lanterns

Are there any other unusual items that you compost?

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Use Direct Composting In Your Garden

Tee — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:30:13 +0000

If you do not like the idea of having a compost pile or composting equipment in your yard then direct composting might be for you. Some localities and gated communities do not allow compost piles, but you can use direct composting as an alternative and still supply your garden with rich compost. Direct composting can serve two purposes – add valuable nutrients to your garden soil, and create an alternative method of eliminating kitchen scraps without them going to waste in a landfill.

What Is Direct Composting?

Direct composting in your garden is very simple – you are basically burying your organic wastes underneath the garden soil where it will decompose into rich compost.

Direct composting is not a new concept. American Indians used a form of direct composting when planting their crops. Some tribes would place fish heads, or whole fish, to the bottom of planting holes while sowing seeds.

The planting holes were dug deeper than needed, then the fish parts were placed at the bottom of the hole. They were then covered by a small layer of soil, and the seeds were planted. The fish parts would decompose, feeding the crop as it grew.

Direct composting can give your soil a very quick pop of nutrients just before planting, or throughout the growing season. This method of composting can also attract beneficial earthworms to your garden. Earthworms help to aerate the soil, and provide nutrients through their casings (droppings).

What Materials Can Be Used With Direct Composting?

The same materials that can be used in a compost pile can be used when direct composting. Organic kitchen scraps, such as fruits and vegetables (cooked or raw), are the best materials to use with direct composting because they break down very quickly. Grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, newspaper, and organic yard debris can be used as well, but should be shredded or chopped up as finely as possible to quicken the decomposition rate.

Note: Never use meats, diary products, or dog and cat feces for composting.

How Do I Direct Compost In My Garden?

There are many different ways to direct compost in your garden, but the easiest way is to bury the organic materials where you plan to plant your crops. Here is how I used direct composting for an area that I’m am going to plant pole beans.

I begin by clearing out the area that I want to direct compost. I had cucumbers planted here, but they had a short life. I have removed the old vines from the trellis, and raked all the mulch out of the way.

Now the area is ready to dig the holes for the organic materials. Remember, you want to dig the holes at least 12 to 14 inches deep. I am digging a trench for my pole beans that is about 28 inches long and 14 inches deep.

Putting In The Good Stuff

With the hole, or trench dug out, it is time to place about 4 inches of organic material in the hole. Here is a list of what I put into my direct composting holes:

tomato peels and ends
potato peels
radish tops
cucumber peels
beet tops
dead leaves
a little grass clippings
a handful of old cypress mulch
yellow squash & zucchini ends
used coffee grounds
lettuce that was left over from a salad (no salad dressing)
carrot peels

REMEMBER! Never use meat, dairy products, or cat and dog feces in compost.

This is what I used in my direct compost hole, you can use these or any other combination of organic materials.

Now that the trench is filled three to four inches with organic materials, take your foot and lightly compact the items in the hole. Fill the hole up with six to eight inches with the soil you dug up, and gently tamp it with your foot.

That is all there is to direct composting! I’ll wait a couple weeks before I plant my pole bean seeds ( I had to order them so it will probably take 7 – 10 days for them to get here any way). Once I am ready to plant, I will use a garden fork to gently break the soil, and aerate the compost underneath where I’m planting.

You can direct compost during winter months (if the garden area isn’t covered with snow), but the decomposition will not begin until the soil warms in spring. The microorganisms that break down organic matter are not active during winter months.

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All About Compost Toilets

Tee — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:30:51 +0000

Compost toilets have been around for quit a while and are becoming more and more popular. I will be the first to admit that the sound of a compost toilet does not sound very pleasant, but are a great money saver for the frugal gardener. Compost toilets have made great strides in the effort for using greener methods of living. Green living and frugality have become common lifestyles in today’s world where global warming and rising energy costs dominate the news.

Composting toilets are a great way to not only save on energy costs, but also supply your garden with plenty of rich nutrients. Composting toilets have a rather high start up cost, ranging from around $1,000 to over $3,000 per toilet. Here is what compostingtoilet.org has to say about the subject.

What Is A Composting Toilet?

Composting toilets are toilet systems which treat human waste by composting and dehydration to produce a usable end-product that is a valuable soil additive.
They come in a variety of models and brand names as well as different shapes and designs to enhance the natural composting process.
They use little or no water, are not connected to expensive sewage systems, cause no environmental damage and produce a valuable resource for gardening.
The systems can be broadly divided into two different types:
Batch Systems
With the batch systems, a container is filled and then replaced with an empty container. The composting process is completed inside the sealed container. The system may have a single, replaceable container. Or it may be a carousel system where 3 or 4 containers are mounted on a carousel and a new container is spun into the toilet area when the other is full. After a full cycle is complete, the first container is fully composted and ready for emptying.
Continual Process Systems
These systems are in a constant state of composting. Waste enters the system, composting reduces the volume and moves it downward where it is harvested after 6-12 months as fully composted material.
All systems are designed to treat the waste material by composting, worm processing, micro- and macro-organism breakdown, and by dehydration and evaporation of moisture.
There are a wide variety of systems including:
Owner-built, two chamber mouldering systems that are basic, but effective.
Owner-built from concrete blocks and concrete inclined base. Constructed in with the house foundations.
Manufactured, small, self-contained and remote systems suitable for vacation and full-time home use.
Manufactured, large tank, inclined base models suitable for heavy loadings.
Wide variety of small units which fit into existing bathrooms. Many have dehydration fans and heaters.
Vacuum flush unit for production of worm castings.
Full flush systems with centrifugal action to deposit wastes into composting chamber.

The Benefits of Composting Toilets

The advantages of natural waste treatment systems are many and varied.
The following section shows the benefits of the system in comparison to existing waterborne waste treatment systems. These benefits improve conditions for the individual, the community and the environment.
An understanding of how your system benefits the individual and the community will help you to maintain it and confidently explain it to others.
Benefits to the Individual
There are many great reasons to use a composting toilet!
Water Use Reduction (20-50%)
A significant savings in water storage will result if the household is not on reticulated water supply. Combine this with wastewater re-utilization in irrigation and other household water reduction techniques and water storage costs can be cut by up to 60%.
Shock Loading Capacity
Loading shock for large gatherings is achieved easily with correctly sized composting toilet systems.
Odor Problems Reduced
The suction air flow in most composting toilets takes toilet and bathroom odor out of the room and acts like a constant extraction fan.
Lower Household Maintenance Costs
Sewage rates and water rates (metered) can be in the order of $500 per year, a significant cost. This will only increase if the demand for sewage system upgrading increases. Other on-site systems have annual maintenance costs that are obligatory. Local authorities will be increasingly paying rebates to households who own composting toilets.
End Product Recycled
While only small in amount, the solid end product is a valuable humic fertilizer that can be utilized around trees and gardens.
Reduced Greywater Loading
Where composting toilets are installed instead of septic and mini-treatment systems, there is a large reduction in the “loading” on the effluent treatment system by the removal of “blackwater.” Smaller, less maintenance, greywater systems are possible.
Independence
A household with a composting system is independent from potential problems of the waterborne sewage system. If future water shortage or system backup problems occur with conventional systems, there is not much that you can do personally about it. On-site composting systems are much more flexible, they are easier to fix and have less damage potential if operated incorrectly.
Recycling
The composting toilet possesses the ability to recycle much of your household waste. Food scraps, paper, lawn clippings and grease from you grease traps and greywater systems can be composted back through the toilet. If you choose to put in a reed bed greywater systems, the annual clippings can also be composted. There is no wastage in this system.
Unusual Sites
Composting toilets can be installed in many different situations which would not accommodate other systems. Rocky sites, high water table, no water storage, environmentally sensitive, close to running watercourses, and swampy ground. All these difficult site situations can be accommodated with a small amount of alteration to the basic system design.
Benefits to the Community & the Environment
Together with the personal benefits of the composting toilet there are overall benefits to the society and the environment.
Water Use
A reduction in water use allows the large capital costs of dams and reservoirs to be spread over a greater population. It also enables decentralized water sources to be used.
Reduced Marine Pollution
Nutrient load on streams and rivers is almost negligible. This results in more oxygen being available in the water and a return to improved activity of marine life.
Pollution Detected Quickly
Without sewage systems to flush away wastes, It would be easier to ascertain where toxic wastes are being leaked into watercourses. Industry would be more willing to rectify these problems if it were easier to identify the sources.
Damage Limited
Miscalculation in individual composting systems has a much smaller impact than the same mistake in a large centralized system. It is also easier to rectify and return to normal operation.
Flexibility of Planning
Composting toilet systems are built only when the need arises. The high headwork and treatment costs of conventional sewage systems must be borne by the community ahead of development. If development does not go as planned, then money is wasted.
Less Environmental Impact
Compared to sewage systems, on-site composting and greywater treatment has less impact on the environment:
Large effluent releases into watercourses and oceans are avoided.
Disruption to soils systems through pipeline installation is eliminated.
Leakage of raw sewage into groundwater through pipe deterioration and breakage is eliminated.
Flexibility in Estate Planning
By eliminating the planning constraints of the sewage system underground piping and infrastructure, housing developments can be designed with more emphasis on environmental and social considerations, rather than how best to situate the blocks to make pipes run straighter.
All information on composting toilets is from www.compostingtoilet.org

For more information on composting toilets, you can visit compostingtoilet.org and Envirolet.

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Choose The Right Composter For You

Tee — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:13:38 +0000

Composting has become an intricate and necessary part of organic gardening. Compost is the best amendment that you can add to your gardening soil, but many people view composting as a tedious, time consuming, and messy affair. It does not have to be that way if you use a composter.

Composters make light work out of producing your own valuable compost. Like everything else, there are many types of composters that are available for different composting methods. Here is a summary of the different style composters and how they work, so that you can choose which one bests fits your needs.

Continuous Composter

A continuous composter is one that you add a little amount of composting materials at a time, and receive small amounts of compost at a time. This type of composter is great for using kitchen scraps and garden waste. You will initially fill the composter up with composting materials, and the composter will have small amounts of compost ready in a few weeks. You continually feed the composter fresh materials as needed. Most bin style composters are continuous composters.

Batch Composter

A batch composter is used by filling with compost material, and turned periodically while checking moisture levels. This type of composter creates a large batch of compost at one time. This is ideal if you have large amounts of organic waste, and a nice sized garden area. Most batch style composters are also called tumblers, because they have the ability to be turned by a handle. They are also referred to as barrel composters. The batch composter is the quickest way to make compost. Chopping or shredding your materials will generate faster results.

If you have large quantities of organic materials, the best system of composting would be to have a batch and continuous composter for a steady supply of compost year round.

Worm Composter

Another superb method of composting is the worm composter, or worm bin. Worm bins are very easy to maintain, and produce some of the best compost. Once you get the worm bin up and running, it takes minimal effort to keep it churning out great compost. Worm composters can also be placed in a garage, or basement for ease of use. Larger worm bins can hold up to 2 lbs. of kitchen waste a day.

The more organic materials you have available, or if you have large compost needs, the larger a composter you will need. If you will just be using kitchen scraps then the smaller composters will suffice. Generally continuous composters will hold more materials than a batch composter, because continuous styles take more time to make compost. It is best to first choose which style you want to use, then choose the appropriate size according to the availability of materials.

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Video: Setting Up A Worm Composting Bin

Tee — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:17:06 +0000

While browsing around the internet I came across this worm composting bin video on YouTube. This is a very good, step-by-step video on how to set up your own worm composting bin. It is very easy and relatively inexpensive. With just minimal effort and money, you can start your own worm composting today. Starting this bin now means you will have plenty of high quality compost for your fall garden, and for next spring. I think I will set one up myself!

You can visit the video author’s website: www.redwormcomposting.com.

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Brew Compost Tea The Easy Way

Tee — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:00:11 +0000

There are several ways to brew your own compost tea, from buying some expensive equipment (some brewers range from $300 to $100) to brewing it right in the backyard with supplies that you may already have or can get very cheaply. Compost tea is the best fertilizer you can get, and it is totally natural and organic. Brewing this wonderful concoction yourself is an easy way to supercharge your vegetable garden.

What Is Compost Tea?

Compost tea is the process of straining the vital nutrients, beneficial microbes, and minerals that are in compost, using water. Compost tea contains everything a commercial fertilizer could only dream it had. One thing that compost and compost tea does that no other fertilizer can do is its ability to control diseases and fungi on vegetable (or flowering) plants.

How To Brew Your Own Compost Tea

Brewing your own compost tea is very simple and does not require much work at all. Here are the items you will need in order to easily brew compost tea:

2 – 5 gallon buckets, cleaned and free of any dirt

some well-aged compost, enough to fill the bucket at least halfway

a fine screen strainer or old piece of burlap

a stirring stick

Once you have acquired the need supplies, you are ready to start brewing!

First, shovel some of the well-aged compost into one of the clean 5 gallon buckets, filling it almost halfway.

Fill the rest of the bucket with fresh, clean water (using gray water or water from a rain barrel will do also). Make sure you don’t overfill the bucket with water, just fill the bucket about 3 inches from the top. You will need this room when stirring the tea.

Leave the bucket with the compost and water outside for a couple of days. It is very important to make sure the bucket stays out of the sunlight. The sunlight can foul the tea.

Occasionally stir the mixture to make sure it separates properly and to allow the mixture to aerate. Oxygen is important in the mixture because this helps the microbes thrive and keeps the tea from becoming a stinky mess.

After a few days, the tea is ready to strain. Take the other clean bucket and place the strainer on top (an old piece of burlap works better). Gently and carefully pour the liquid from the compost bucket into the strainer. The valuable compost tea will pour through the strainer and into the second bucket. Continue this until you have strained all the good compost tea from the compost bucket.

That’s it! You know have some great compost tea ready for those thirsty vegetable plants. Dilute the strained compost tea with water at a rate of 5 to 1, or put in a bottle hose sprayer and apply to garden plants. You will notice a difference in your vegetables in no time!

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Composting For A Healthy Garden

Tee — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:56:09 +0000

Whether you are new to vegetable gardening or a seasoned pro, composting is a topic that comes up frequently. Many gardeners live and die by composting; others could care less about it. The truth is composting is a great way to feed rich, fertile nutrients to your garden plants.

Back in the day, composting was mainly considered an activity for the die-hard gardener that had huge amounts of garden space and land. Composting was often viewed as something that was complicated or time consuming. However, it is quite the opposite.

As more and more gardeners began to see the advantages of composting, the popularity of the activity has soared. It has now become a gardening mainstay with the rural gardeners and those living in suburbia. There are even some communities that encourage composting by giving seminars and having an area to drop off or receive composting materials.

What’s The Point?

Many people wonder what’s the big deal with composting. Why not just use fertilizer, and be done with it? The difference between using a chemical fertilizer and using compost is similar to the difference between eating a Big Mac and eating a fresh salad. Which one is a better meal for your body? Of course, it’s the fresh salad.

The same thing goes for your garden. Using compost gives your garden plants the nutrients and “vitamins” it needs to thrive. Chemical fertilizers may help growth initially, but it will not sustain the good, robust health that compost will provide. Not only does compost contain all of the major plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) in forms readily available to plants, but it also contains a wealth of minor and trace elements as well as billions (yes, literally billions) of bacteria, yeast, fungi, and other soil creatures that will continue to break down organic and inorganic matter in the compost and in your soil, providing a long-term, steady feeding of nutrients to plants.

Compost also helps to build up your soil. It helps clay soil drain better, helps to bind loose, sandy soil, and improves overall moisture retention. The best thing you could ever add to your garden is compost.

How Long Does It Take To Make Compost?

Many gardeners don’t compost simply because they perceive it to be more difficult or complicated than it really is. In truth, composting – rotting really – is a natural process that will occur even without any effort on a gardener’s part. If you just put all your garden waste, kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and autumn leaves into a giant pile, you’d have good, usable compost deep within the pile in a year and a half or so. If using table scraps, do not use any meats. The meats will rot also, but does not break down like vegetation. Also the rotting meat can attract scavengers like possums or rats, and I don’t think you want those near your garden or home. My rule is to play it safe and just stick to vegetation items.

Actively engaging in the composting process just speeds the whole process up greatly. Researchers have found that it’s possible to make finished compost (that is, compost that is so completely broken down that none of its component materials are distinguishable) in as little as 10 days. Practically speaking, most home gardeners can make a good batch of compost every 3-4 weeks; over a growing season, that’s a lot of free fertilizer of unparalleled quality.

Getting Started

So, how do you make compost? There are four key words to remember: green, brown, air, water. What this means is that to make compost, all you have to do is bring together moist, fresh, predominantly green ingredients (grass clippings, weeds, kitchen scraps, and the like) and predominantly brown ingredients (dead leaves, straw, hay, wood shavings or chips, etc.), ensure that the mix remains damp, and turn it all every few days to reintroduce oxygen to the pile. That’s it. In less than a month, you’ll have rich, crumbly, brown compost that you can add to your garden soil, use in containers, or mulch with.

Compost can be made anywhere, in virtually any kind of container, or in no container at all – just a big pile. A bin or tumbler will keep the process neat and manageable, however, and will make it easier to add air to the mixture. To start your compost pile, reduce the size of the ingredients you’re using in the pile by chopping them with a machete, a sharp garden spade, or other tool. Autumn leaves can be shredded quite well by repeatedly mowing over them. Then add all the ingredients together, layering them in 3-4-inch-thick layers if you’re using a bin, or just tossing them altogether if you’re using a tumbler of some sort. Strive for somewhere between a 5:1 and an 8:1 ratio, by volume, of brown materials (fuel for the organisms that will decompose the pile) to green, but don’t get too fussy about it—if the proportion is off, it’s easy enough to recognize and to remedy.

Balancing It Out

A pile that doesn’t heat up within 24 hours needs more green material. A compost thermometer is very handy for determining the temperature near the center of the pile, which should rise to approximately 150-160F. Often, however, you can see a pile steaming and can feel its heat even from the outside of the tumbler or over the top of the bin. A pile that develops an ammonia-like smell needs more brown materials; just work some more into the pile, and the aroma should go away.

Inducing Decomposition

The air and water requirements of a composting operation are similarly low-key. The mixture of materials should remain about as moist as a wrung-out sponge—damp, that is, but not soaking wet. And the more often you turn a pile, the quicker you’ll have compost, because most of the composting process is carried out by aerobic (oxygen-using) bacteria. If you decide to build your pile in a traditional square bin, you’ll want to have an extra bin next to it, so that you can move the pile from one bin into another. If you use a tumbler of some type, turning is easier yet: All you have to do is spin or roll the container to re-oxygenate the pile.

Tips and Troubleshooting

Not much can go wrong with a compost pile other than the two conditions mentioned above – a pile that doesn’t heat up and one that develops an ammonia-like smell. Altering the ratio of ingredients one way or the other will generally right things. You can prevent any problems with critters visiting your pile by keeping animal and dairy products out of your kitchen compost container. Vegetable and fruit scraps are excellent “green” additions.

How To Use Your First Batch of Compost

Once you’ve cooked your first batch of compost, what do you do with it? As mentioned above, it’s excellent as an addition to garden soil, container mixes, or used as a mulch. Depending on the ingredients you used, there may be coarse pieces still in the compost. The best way to deal with these is to screen the finished compost through a piece of hardware cloth stapled to a frame (or through a “riddle,” a tool designed for just such a purpose).

Do It All Again

Anything that doesn’t sift through the screen can be returned to your pile or bin for further breakdown. And be sure to save a bit of finished compost to start the next batch: The rich microbial life within that compost will get things off to an even faster start next time around.

I will admit that I abandoned composting a few years ago because I did not like the unsightly pile of trash in my yard. After visiting a friend’s garden near the end of the season last year, I quickly changed my mind about composting. He had the most beautiful garden plants I had seen. When I asked him what he used, he simply answered, “Just compost.” I knew then that I needed to re-institute my own composting.

So, very soon, I will begin adding items to my old composting pile, to get the decomposition commencing.

I have also looked into possibly purchasing a compost bin. Most that I have seen are a bit more than I want to pay for one. I have found a bin at Gardener’s Supply on sale for $69.99. I may look into getting it so I don’t have the big pile of stuff in the yard.

For the frugal-minded gardener, a pile will work fine, or if you have some scrap lumber laying around, you can build your own compost bin.

I will have a post very soon on worm composting. This is a very interesting subject that you don’t want to miss.

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