The answer to the why part of the composting question is the easiest to address.  Americans throw out around 25% of the food we make and table scraps account for 12% of the trash in our landfills.  It is a waste to waste this waste, especially when you can put most of it to a much better use.  Composting can help create a natural, beneficial additive for your garden soil and allows you to bypass using chemical fertilizers and soil enhancers.  It’s great for plants, shrubs and for organic gardens, so if you have been thinking about starting a garden now is a great time to do so and composting is a great place to start.

Anybody can start a compost pile but most of us don’t know the first thing about where to begin or what to do to manage the pile.  It is actually a fairly simple process to get started and it begins with your compost bin.  There are a variety of different methods you can use to construct your compost “home”, ranging from building your own to buying a commercial tumbler.  The benefits of a store bought bin are that they are clean, neat and an attractive way to manage the process.  The downside is that they are usually small and only make a small amount of compost and are expensive.  

You can also go rustic and build your own from a few pieces of scrap wood and chicken wire.  Build a 3 sided box that is 4 to 5 feet wide and high with an open front.  Wrap the 3 sides in chicken wire to keep creatures out and voila, you have a composting bin.  You can get step by step instructions from Bluegrass Gardens and BackyardGardeners.com.

Once you have a bin you’re ready to begin composting!  Here are some simple steps you can take to create your masterpiece.

A.       Choose a shady location that is out of the way BUT still in view so you don’t forget about it.

B.      Add “brown” material for the 1^st layer.  Build a 6 inch high layer of hay, straw, old leaves and/or sawdust in the bottom of the bin.  Add water…

C.      Add “green” material.  Build a 2 to 3 inch high layer on top of the “brown” layer using green grass clippings, manure and table scraps.  Add water…

D.      Repeat this layering process until the bin is full.  Make sure you moisten each layer prior to adding the next layer.

E.       Wait a few days and then “turn” the layers using a pitchfork or shovel.

F.       Cover with a tarp to keep the rain out and preserve the moisture you added during the layering.  This is important to help the compost pile “cook”.

You now have a compost pile and it is important to manage the pile to insure that the natural process takes place without many complications.  There are few “do’s” and “don’ts” of composting that you need to be aware of beginning with what and what not to add to your pile.  You can add:

1.        Natural things like hay, straw, pine needles, leaves, flowers, weeds, and trimmings from trees and shrubs.

2.       Kitchen scraps like egg shells, old bread, vegetables and fruit scraps and some animal manure.

3.       Wood chips, sawdust and shredded black and white newspapers

You should never include things like meats, oils, fish, dairy products or bones as they attract unwanted creatures to the pile.  You also want to avoid diseased or insect-infested plants, grass or weeds treated with herbicides or feces from dogs, cats, pigs or humans.

It is very important to have the right mix of these items to make sure the pile heats up and decomposes in the most efficient way.  The general rule is to use the C/N ration.  This is the mix of carbon based products to nitrogen based products.  The “brown” layers you built in the initial process are your carbon products and the “green” layers contain the nitrogen products.  A 25:1 ration of carbon to nitrogen is considered the correct ratio for your compost pile.

The final step is managing your compost pile.  You can handle this either of two ways depending on your time table for useable compost.  If you don’t want to exert much effort and don’t need the compost for a while then go through the initial process of building and turning the pile and then let it go.  In about a year you will have compost for your garden or flower beds.  If you want the process to move along more quickly then you will need to tend your pile. 

After about a week you should check the pile for moisture and heat.  Just dig down a foot or so to see if the pile is moist, if so let it go, if not then water it thoroughly.  There is fine balance to this so make sure the pile is not soggy as this will impede the process.  The rule of thumb is to keep the pile as moist as a wrung out sponge. 

In addition to the moisture level it is important to keep the heat on.  A hot pile means that the natural process of decomposition is working.  If the pile feels as cool as the outside air you will need to turn the pile and add more nitrogen based product like grass clippings, kitchen scraps or manure.  You can “turn” the pile using a pitch fork and removing the top and outer layers, set them on the ground and then remove the inside and lower layers and place them on the ground as well.  Then put the top and outer layers in first and the cover with the lower, inside layers.

If you take an active part in the composting process you should have usable compost in three to four weeks.   You just need to decide which method suits your needs best and begin.

The “art” of composting is a complicated skill to learn and can only come from experience and researching the process.  The Compost Guide is one of the best resources for a complete guide to composting, including troubleshooting, where to buy bins, how to use compost and much, much more.   Now it’s up to you to make the decision and get started.  We will!