Grandbrothers / Getty Images
Composting turns readily available materials into a soil additive for gardens.
Beginners can start composting right away.
You only need a few simple items.
Grandbrothers / Getty Images
After about three months, you’ll have a rich soil amendment for your garden or yard.
What Is Compost?
Bacteria, fungi, and insects break down organic materials.
As the organisms break down, they generate heat and crumble into smaller particles.
After several weeks to three months, the resultcompostbarely resembles the source materials.
While a few nutshells or rinds may be recognizable, the compost is deeply brown and approaching black.
Its texture is fluffy, and loamy, much like rich soil.
Compost vs.
Fertilizer
Compost fertilizes plants.
Butcompost differs from fertilizers, also calledNPK fertilizers, which deliver nutrients in concentrated form.
Want more gardening tips?
Maintain this 1:3 ratio both when you start the compost pile and as you add to it over time.
As you maintain the pile, add materials in the same proportions, even if the amounts are smaller.
Benefits of Composting
Composting benefits you by:
Composting is beneficialbeyond your own yard and garden.
Active vs.
Passive composting doesn’t require turning, but it takes up to two years to develop.
Hot Composting
Hot compostingis an actively managed method that generates its own heat.
Internal temperatures can reach 140F.
To cold compost, toss leaves in a large pile.
Bury fresh green materials in the center to avoid attracting vermin.
There is no need to turn the pile or add water.
Tip
When cold composting, add plenty of twigs to create air pathways.
Worm or Vermicomposting
Withworm composting, you create a bed of moistened paper and then add worms.
The worms progress to higher levels as you add more food every few days.
This highly actively managed method produces worm compost in one- to two-month cycles.
Bokashi Composting
Bokashi compostingis a fermentation process that produces a highly concentrated liquid nutrient.
The bokashi liquid is often added as a booster to traditional compost.
Tumblers
Stand-mounted compost tumblers lift the compost pile to an easy-to-access height of 18 to 40 inches.
With locking lids, they keep curious vermin out of the pile.
Compost tumblers cost about $150 or make aDIY compost tumblerfrom a plastic drum for about $75.
Bins
Purchase a compost bin for about $100.
Or you canmake a pallet compost binfor less than $50.
Another option is tomake a compost bin using plastic storage containersfor about $40.
Drill holes in an 18-glass storage bin, fit it inside another bin, and add the compost mixture.
Compost outdoors whenever possible.
But if you do decide tocompost in an apartmentor anywhere inside, compost in plastic bins.
The pile must be largethree feet high, wide, and deep.
For large-scale composting, create long, narrow strips of compost called windrows.
Each strip’s width should be twice its height.
What to Compost or Not Compost
Compost organic materials, not inorganic materials.
Organic materials are things that were once alive: grass, wood, nutshells, and food scraps.
Inorganic materials are things like rocks, metal, glass, and plastic.
A new compost pile should heat up to 140F within three or four days.
Insert a compost thermometer into the center of the pile.
It may even take a year or two for the compost to fully develop.
For potted plants, mix compost, vermiculite, and topsoil in three equal parts.
Or add a thick layer of compost (3 inches to 6 inches) instead of mulch in beds.
So, for every container of green materials (veggie clippings, plants, coffee grounds, etc.)
add three containers of brown materials (leaves, sawdust, etc.).
Keep the compost pile moist and turn it every few days.
Cold composting is the simplest composting method.
Create a large pile of leaves and twigs with some green materials in the center.
There is no need to rotate the pile.
Some compost may be available in a few weeks.
However, when hot composting, you’ll generally have to wait about three months to use it.
City of Charlottesville, WV.
West Virginia University Extension.
Slow, cool composting is the easy way.
Oregon State University Extension.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
What Can and Can’t I Compost?Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
When Is Compost Ready?University of Florida Extension.
