Compost—Use Mother Nature's
Decomposed Materials in Your Garden

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By composting, we can convert organic wastes — yard trimmings, leaves and many kinds of kitchen scraps — into a dark, crumbly mixture that can be used to improve the soil and reduce our use of fertilizer and water.

Best of all, the actual decomposition work is done by mother nature, exactly as she's been doing for thousands of years.

Let's take a few moments to see what makes composting work. Then you can build a simple compost pile.

If you have a composting story or even a picture that you would love to share with everyone that visits this site then leave your story here.

Workers

Bacteria are found in all kinds of organic matter. They do the primary breakdown of materials without having to put them to work. They live and reproduce on their own and flourish under the proper conditions.

Non-bacteria workers, like worms, fungi, and many invertebrate,s will work in your pile for just room and board. Some will feed on the material you added, while others will eat the bacteria.

The natural chain works together and puts out a finished product unmatched by any chemical fertilizer you can buy.

Green and Brown Ingredients

The greens, like green leaves, coffee grounds, plant trimmings, fresh grass clippings, and raw fruit and vegetable scraps, are items that will provide nitrogen and protein for the microbes hard at work in the pile.

You can even put in rotting apples and horse manure.

The browns, like dried grasses, straw, wood chips, twigs, branches, sawdust, shredded newspaper, corncobs, and cornstalks, provide carbon and energy for the microbes.

Since microbes are living things, they need water and air. Turning your pile every 2 weeks will allow aeration to aid the decomposition.

I recommend that you use two smaller side by side bins to ease the task of turning. Turn from one bin into the other.

Making the Compost Bin

1. Keep it simple. Inexpensive materials like old pallets, snow fence, or chicken wire with poles can be used for home made composting bins. Cheaper yet is a simple pile.

Build a bin about 1 cubic yard (3 ft x 3 ft x 3ft).This will let the pile reached the heat necessary and retain the moisture. This size is als oeasy to handle.

2. What to add? Even if you only have grass clippings and leaves, this is enough to decompose. Don't worry about not having enough at the start. When items become available, add them.

Water sparingly but don't forget to water. If the pile is too wet, turn it over into other bin to dry. Rain and fresh grass clippings, which are 70% water, will provide the moisture.

You'll find that smaller items decompose faster so shred and use chippers if possible.

Start the bin with a layer of twigs or coarse items to provide air circulation. Then add the green and brown materials in alternating layers.

3. Turn the pile. Take a pitch fork to turn the material after the first week. Don't be afraid to add greens and browns to pile at any time.

Repeat the turning until you see materials that are dark and crumbly, earthy smelling, and not like anything you put in the bin in the first place.

Using Your Organic Black Gold

Your finished product is not a fertilizer. It's a soil amendment, and, if turned into compost tea, a foliar spray.

It's full of nutrients that will enrich any soil where you put it. Use your new compost in your vegetable garden, lawn, potted plants, and flower garden. It will add that much needed drainage capability to the soil. Add over rocky areas to provide a growing medium, or fill up a raised garden bed with a soil/compost combination.

Congratulations! You have just created the richest soil anywhere.

Additional Related Topics

What Is Windrow Composting?

Composting

Cold or Slow Composting

Hot Composting

Common Problems With Composting

Vermicomposting

Using Compost

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