Concise Printable Composting Guide  

What is Compost?

According to the EPA, 24% of residential garbage can be composted.

Compost is very rich, black, crumbly, soil-like material made up of decomposed organic matter. A compost pile is a collection of plant materials combined in a way to encourage decomposition. Soil micro-organisms (bacteria and fungi) and worms do the work of breaking down this organic material into a soil-like consistency. An example of this process is the decomposition that happens in the forest, when the leaves fall from the trees and sit on the forest floor year after year. Those leaves left to sit are turned into compost. As plant materials break down, they form humus—the rich organic component of soil. The compost matter we can create in our backyard is made with fallen leaves from the trees, grass clippings and other yard waste, and leftover scraps from the kitchen. Spring is an ideal time to start composting, using dry leaves from the previous fall and green material gathered during the warm months.

How to Make Compost:

By following these simple steps, you can create compost in 6-12 months.

1. Choose a location for your compost pile that has good drainage (if the pile will be in contact with the ground) and adequate shade in the summer (to maintain moisture).
   
    
   
2. Select a bin to keep the pile neat and to retain moisture and heat. There are many choices as to the type of bin you can use. You can build the pile directly on the ground or in a plastic container with drainage holes in the bottom. You can make a bin using wire mesh and wood; or you can purchase one in stores or online. A 3-foot-wide by 3-foot-high pile will hold in the heat and moisture that allow compost organisms to thrive.
   
   
   
3. Save kitchen scraps such as raw vegetables, raw fruits, and coffee grounds. Any raw plant material - melon rinds, carrot peelings, apple cores, banana peels, lettuce, and so on - can go into the composting bin. Grass clippings, pruned leaves, and the remains of garden plants make excellent compost ingredients as well.
   
   
   
4. Do not include any animal products: fats, dairy, meat, bones, fish, cheese, cooked food or manure. Avoid chemically treated lawn clippings and diseased plant material.
   
   
5. Save brown leaves that fall off the trees in bags next to the compost bin. If space is an issue, or if you want to hasten the composting process, you can shred the leaves with the lawn mower.
   
   
   
6. Layer the bin with some brown material and then some green material, alternating layers. Continue to add approximately equal amounts of greens and browns as they become available.

   a. Greens – fresh, moist, nitrogen-rich plant materials that still have some life in them. Examples are grass clippings, fresh leaves, kitchen scraps, and yard prunings.

   b. Browns – dry, carbon-rich plant materials with no life in them. Examples are autumn leaves, straw, wood chips, and twigs.

   Keeping a layer of brown leaves on top will help prevent odors.
   
   
7. Water the bin when necessary. Keep the mixture moist like a damp, wrung-out sponge. If the bin is open, you will only have to water during dry spells.
   
   
   
8. Mix/turn the mixture with a garden fork every week or so. This adds air to the pile, distributes excess water, and speeds the composting process by providing the most contact between browns and greens.

Some Very Good Reasons for Making Compost:

Composting gives back to nature what has been given to us. It returns organic matter to the soil, providing all of these benefits:

• Composting uses the leaves that fall on our lawns, which lowers curbside leaf collection costs.
• Composting can use up to a quarter of all the garbage you would normally take to the curb, which lowers garbage collection costs and reduces the pollution produced by the county incinerator.
• Compost helps loosen heavy clay soils; it also increases the water- and nutrient-holding capacity of sandy soils. Improving your soil is the first step toward improving the health of your plants.
• Compost slowly releases the nutrients plants need to grow and remain healthy, resulting in tastier vegetables, bigger flowers and stronger plants that can more easily resist pests and diseases.
• Healthy plants help clean our air and conserve our soil, making our town a healthier place to live.

When the compost bin has made the compost, this is where to use your compost:

Finished compost is a rich, dark material that looks like soil and has a pleasant, earthy smell. Compost can be:

• Mixed directly into the soil or applied as a thick layer of mulch around vegetables, flowers, trees and shrubs.
• Added to soil in pots and planter boxes to amend it.
• Used as part of a seed-starting mix.
• Spread thinly on the lawn or soaked in a bucket to make “compost tea” for watering indoor or outdoor plants.

For more details, here are a few composting websites:

The composting section of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/composting/index.htm

An excellent website that explains composting in a simple-to-understand manner:
http://www.compostguide.com

A catalog of natural gardening products, including a composting bin:
http://www.gardensalive.com/default.asp?sid=100309&eid=&bhcd2=1192409731

On October 14, 2007, Paul James (the Gardener Guy on HGTV) had a brief segment showing how to compost. Here is the link:
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_soil_water_other/article/0,,HGTV_3635_5693857,00.html

Links to other home, gardening and composting sites:
http://www.compostguide.com/links.html