You’ve probably heard how great composting can be for both the environment and your garden. It gives you a way to recycle natural waste and turn it into free fertilizer for your lawn and garden.
If you’ve never tried composting before, now is a great time to start. Composting is a great way to reuse kitchen scraps and yard waste, plus it’s not that hard to do. By the end of this article, you’ll have all the information you need to start composting right now.
What To Compost
There are two main ingredients of compost. One is “green” materials that have a high moisture content and decompose quickly. These materials supply nitrogen. Examples include:
- Kitchen scraps
- Leftover or spoiled food
- Coffee grounds and tea bags
- Grass clippings
- Trimmings from garden plants
- Farm animal manure
The other ingredient is non-living “brown” materials that supply carbon for your compost heap. Examples include:
- Shredded newspaper
- Dry leaves and grass clippings
- Uncoated, food-soiled papers
- Cardboard
- Dry branch clippings
You’ll want your compost pile to have more “brown” carbon-supplying materials than “green” nitrogen supplying materials. A good ratio is about 30 parts brown to 1 part green. Try to layer the different ingredients so they’re spread throughout your pile.
What NOT To Compost
The list of things you shouldn’t compost is pretty short. Still, it’s important to avoid adding these ingredients to your compost pile:
- Greasy food scraps
- Fats and oils
- Meats
- Milk products
- Non-herbivore animal manure
- Diseased plants
Oily foods, dairy, and meats can cause odor problems and attract pests like rodents and flies. The non-herbivore manure and diseased plants can cause contamination problems when you use the compost later.
Where And When To Compost
Heat speeds up the composting process, so it’s a good idea to start your composting project in the spring or summer.
Before you build a compost pile, check to see if your community has any restrictions. Some have rules regarding what type of compost pile or bin is allowed and/or how far the compost must be from lot lines.
Choose a spot for your compost pile that is convenient for you to access but is also out of the way. You’ll want to have room for a pile that is no smaller than 3x3x3 feet and no larger than 5x5x5 feet.
Make sure your pile is not right next to a wooden structure like the wall of a building, You can use wood to build a compost bin, but the composting process will eventually cause wood to decay and you won’t want that happening to something like a fence, trellis, or wall.
How To Compost
The easiest way to compost is to start a pile of kitchen scraps, yard waste, and other compost ingredients in a back corner of your yard. Just build a pile, layering the green and brown materials, then wait for it to break down into compost.
Getting more involved in the composting process helps speed things up so you can use the compost sooner. To do this, you simply have to “turn” the compost by using a spade, spading fork, or pitchfork to move the compost pile to a spot next to the original pile. The main goal is to mix up the compost ingredients and allow more air flow. You’ll want to do this every 1 to 4 weeks.
It’s also important to keep the compost pile from drying out too much. You want it to stay about as wet as a wrung-out sponge. This often means you’ll need to water the compost pile during the warm, dry months of the year.
You can purchase or build bins to hold your compost piles. Though this is not necessary for successful composting, the bins often look nicer than a messy pile and can be easier to maintain.
How Long To Compost
A pile that you don’t maintain could take 6 months to 2 years to compost thoroughly. That’s why gardeners who want a faster turn-around on their compost piles take steps to maintain the compost heaps.
With regular care and maintenance, and under the right conditions, a pile of composting waste can be ready to use in as little as 1 to 2 months. Turning the compost pile once a week helps keep the decomposition process moving more quickly.
You can use a compost thermometer to check that your compost is breaking down. A temperature between 110 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit means the decomposition process is currently taking place. Because of the fairly high temperatures involved, it’s not unusual to see steam rising from the compost heap when you turn it.
You’ll know the compost is ready when it looks like rich garden soil and the original ingredients are no longer recognizable. Finished compost will no longer heat up, even after mixing.
What To Do With Compost
Now that you’ve succeeded in your composting venture, what do you do with all this compost? Compost is an excellent soil additive and fertilizer, and here are the three main ways you can use it on your lawn and garden:
- Fertilize the lawn. Simply spread 1/4- to 1/2-inch layer of compost over the lawn once in the spring or early summer then lightly rake it into the soil.
- Amend the garden. Before planting a garden, spread a 3- to 6-inch layer of compost over the surface and then work it into the soil.
- Fertilize plants. Mulching with compost around established garden plants improves the soil and provides natural fertilizer.
If you need any of the tools used to make compost or use it on your garden, come visit us at Richardson Saw & Lawnmower. We’d be happy to help you find what you need to make your composting adventure a success.
