Composting in 7 Simple Steps
Are you ready to take the first step in reducing your carbon footprint and creating nutrient-rich soil for your garden? Look no further than backyard composting! Follow these seven simple steps to set up your own composting system and start turning your food scraps into "black gold" for your plants. Not only will you be helping the environment, but your garden will thank you too!
Choose a location for your compost. The best place is one that is in the shade, on a flat surface, and protected by the elements. Most important, make it accessible. If it’s too far or too hard to reach, you might not stick with it.
Purchase or make a compost bin or create a pile. Either one will work. Do your research and choose one that will suit your needs. I use a three-tier vermicompost bin that keeps things contained, covered, and free of any critters. If you are making your own pile, the ideal and most practical size is about 4’ x 4’ x 4’.
Start collecting brown matter. If you are composting your fruit and veggie food scraps (nitrogen rich) you already have your green matter, but lawn clippings, cut grass, picked weeds, coffee grounds, eggshells work too. Now, you need to start collecting some brown (carbon rich) matter. Brown matter consists of: dead leaves, sawdust, wood chips, and paper like: toilet roll paper wrapping and toilet rolls, paper grocery bags, and cardboard. Find a vessel to collect the brown matter in and leave it near your compost bin for easy access. Make sure to break up or cut up your brown and green matter. The smaller the pieces going in, the quicker they break down.
Materials that can be composted: fruit peels, veggie scraps (be sure to remove all non-organic materials including plastic stickers, bands, and tags), egg shells, nut shells, coffee grounds and unbleached filters, loose tea, non-plastic tea bags, toilet paper cores, sawdust, hay, straw, yard trimmings, grass clippings, leaves, natural fibers in small pieces: wool, cotton, linen, hemp, and silk, unbleached paper towels and napkins, herbivore manure, flowers and plant matter, plain egg cartons, ripped up brown paper bags and newsprint, wooden toothbrushes san bristles, uncolored hair, nail trimmings, and small quantities of wood ash.
Materials that cannot be composted: meat, fish, bones, dairy, greasy foods, excess oil, bleached or laminated paper products, glossy paper, or coffee cups, materials sprayed with pesticides, omnivore manure, large pieces of wood, coal or charcoal ash, "compostable" plastics, cat litter, diseased or insect-ridden plants, eggs, and sand.
Soil. You’ll need some compost soil to start your compost. So, use some from your own garden or purchase a bag at your local garden center.
Start layering. Start adding a first layer of twigs so that you create air circulation between your pile and the ground. Then add your brown layer. Add a little soil. Then add you green. Alternate. Brown, green, soil. Brown, green, soil.
Maintenance. The art of composting is in the balancing of brown matter and green matter, keeping things moist, and keeping it mixed to allow the flow of oxygen. Mix the ingredients often and every time you mix, spray with water. Composting happens fastest when the compost encourages the growth of microorganisms.
Ready to use. The process of composting and the rate at which organic matter breaks down to use your compost can vary greatly. You’ll know it’s ready when you can no longer recognize any of the original ingredients. The soil will be dark in color, crumbly to the touch, and carry an earthly odor. Enjoy as you would any other soil product!
