Compost is decayed organic matter that has broken down to a soil like consistency and it is an excellent amendment to your soil. Some folks use it for mulch around shrubs and trees. Compost provides much needed nutrients, aeration and organic material to your landscape and garden. Compost lets you do away with so many chemical fertilizers and is naturally suited for the organic garden.

Besides the obvious benefits of compost to your own garden and landscape, there is a larger benefit.  Compost saves valuable room in sanitary landfills, and reduces the methane produced by these landfills.  Methane has been identified as a greenhouse gas.

By composting you are reducing your carbon footprint, and making the environment a better place.  Pretty impressive results for just moving where you send your  kitchen and landscape leftovers.

Compost is not that hard to make.   You need a layer of ‘green’ followed by a layer of ‘brown’.  It’s kind of like a Dagwood sandwich in that the amount and kinds of things you can compost are varied and amazing.

For green material you can use yard waste such as leaves & flower clippings.  Don’t use wet grass or wet leaves.  They will mat down and will not decompose properly.  You can also include food scraps in the green layer.  Fruit and vegetable peelings, old bread, coffee grinds, egg shells, and other such scraps that do not contain any fats.

Some people swear they compost chicken bones, dead squirrels and who knows what, but the prevailing opinion of the cooperative extension service reports are that animal products and fats produce harmful toxins in the compost.  Who needs more toxins?  Better to leave fats and animal products for the trash.  Also, do not include any diseased plant material.  The pathogens may not be killed off if your compost does not get hot enough.

Brown layer materials can include dry grass, dry leaves, shredded branches, dry twigs, shredded paper, ripped up corrugated cardboard (small pieces only because it’s slow to decompose), wood chips, sawdust (in small amounts, mix in well), cardboard egg cartons, nut shells, hay, straw, and dry garden debris.

Use about 12″ of brown material (Carbon) for every 4–6″ of green material (Nitrogen)

You will have compost more quickly if you turn the pile.  You can use a pitchfork, or a specially designed compost crank.  Turning will give you compost in two to four months.  Tumblers will also give you a quick compost boost with a few turns of the barrel.

Check out some of the great compost bins and supplies at Gardener’s Supply Company I have found them to be one of the best, most reliable companies online for garden related products.

They have a complete line of composting products from biobags to use in the kitchen collection pail, to compost bins in almost every configuration.

I could go on about this.  I just love composting, but I will let you check it out for yourself. To read more about composting, check out the article ‘All about Composting’ at Gardener’s Supply Company’s website.

You will also appreciate their Blog, Gardener’s Journal.

Let us know how your composting goes!  Share your stories, or leave comments.  We look forward to hearing from you

.

A Tumbler makes making compost easy.

I just bought this one and I couldn’t be happier.

This compost aerator makes it easy to turn the pile!