HOME COMPOSTING
Composting is a natural process
that transforms yard trimmings and food scraps into a soil-like material called
compost. By starting a compost pile in your yard, you can recycle your grass
clippings, leaves and kitchen scraps into a nutrient-rich material you can use
in your garden or yard.
Compost helps plants grow bigger
and better and helps soil hold on to nutrients and water. It also saves money
-- reducing your need for other lawn and garden products and reducing the amount
of trash you generate. And since yard and garden waste accounts for almost a
fifth of the trash people throw out each year, composting reduces the load on
landfills while it increases soil quality.
What to compost
Do compost: grass clippings,
leaves, weeds and garden debris, small brush, twigs, wood ash, sawdust and wood
chips, egg shells, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps.
Don’t compost: meat, bones, fat,
dairy products, oils, whole branches, logs pet or human waste, charcoal
briquette ash, sawdust or ash from treated wood.
How to compost
There are a number of approaches
to making compost, ranging from a more passive approach to a more heavily
managed approach. How you compost is determined by your goal. If you're eager
to produce as much compost as possible to use regularly in your garden, you may
opt for a more hands-on method of composting. If your goal is to dispose of yard
waste, a passive method is your answer.
Passive composting involves the
least amount of time and energy on your part. This is done by collecting organic
materials in a freestanding pile. It might take up to a year, but eventually
organic materials in any type of a pile will break down into finished compost.
More attractive than a big pile of materials sitting in your yard is a 3-sided
enclosure made of fencing, wire, or concrete blocks, which keeps the pile neater
and less unsightly. Add grass clippings, leaves, and kitchen scraps (always
cover these with 8" of other material). The pile will shrink quickly as the
materials compress and decompose. Wait a year or two before checking the bottom
of the bin for finished compost. When it's ready, shovel the bottom section into
a wheelbarrow and add it to your garden beds.
Managed composting involves active
participation, ranging from turning the pile occasionally to a major commitment
of time and energy. If you use all the techniques of managing the pile, you can
get finished compost in 3-4 weeks. Choose the techniques that reflect how much
you want to intervene in the decomposition process and that will be a function
of how fast you want to produce compost.
Additional resources
Common Backyard Composting
University of Minnesota Extension guide to composting
Compost Guide: a complete guide to composting |
