Composting is simply the process of changing raw, organic materials, such as grass clippings, sod, leaves, tree trimmings, food scraps (excluding meat or bones), into a rich, crumbly soil conditioner. You can accomplish this by layering materials in a pile. You can maintain it as a loose pile or contain it in a bin. The speed of production is dependent on what you put in it, where it is located (sun or shade), how large the pile is, how damp the pile is, and how frequently you turn or manage it.
There is a lot of information out there about composting. Most of that information states emphatically that you must follow a certain procedure in order to produce compost. That is not true. Just about any organic material will eventually decompose to the point where it can be considered compost. Balancing the ingredients in certain ways can speed up the process. Adding certain ingredients will heat up the pile and thus speed up the process. Keeping the pile to a certain size and turning it on a specific schedule will also speed up the process. However, none of these rules need be followed to produce compost – it just takes longer.
WHAT CAN BE PUT IN A COMPOST PILE?
•Fallen leaves
•Grass and lawn clippings, sod
•Hay, straw, pine needles
•Annual weeks (preferably before they go to seed)
•Remains of garden plants from clean up
•Woodchips, sawdust
•Shredded paper
•Tea, bags or loose leaf
•Coffee grounds
•Eggshells
•Food scraps – no meat, fats or bones
WHAT SHOULD NOT BE PUT IN COMPOST PILE?
•Paint, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides
•Treated wood
•Diseased plants
•Annual weeds that have gone to seed
•Roots of perennial weeds
•Human or pet waste
•Meat scraps or bones
•Fats or grease
•Milk products
HOW DO NOT PRODUCE THE BEST COMPOST?
Balancing ingredients. This is optional. The usual rule of thumb is 2 parts brown to 1 part green. Meaning, 2 parts leaves, pine needles, dead plants and 1 part grass clippings or kitchen waste. Believing one must do this to get compost is a fallacy. You can pile all organic material together and, eventually, it will turn to compost
Hot versus cold. Purists feel that hot piles are better. By adding more green material (like kitchen scraps) to the center of the pile, you can cause it to heat up. The heat is produced as the material decomposes. A slow, cool process, however, produces the same end result.
Small or large pile. Absolutely any size will work. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by simply piling stuff together until the heap reaches a size that requires you to work on it. Then using a garden, hay or pitch fork mix up the pile and spray it down with water to get it moist. The turning helps break up the materials in the pile into small pieces, and alerts you to pockets that are too dry and not breaking down very fast, or too wet and need to be brought to the surface to dry out.
Moisture. A compost pile should not stink. It should have an earthy fragrance. If it does smell, the most likely reason is the pile is too wet. It helps the process if the pile is moist but not soaking.
Why should I bother to compost? In keeping with the idea of thinking globally and acting locally, one of the best ways to accomplish this is by following the old adage – REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE. By keeping as much of the waste products we produce in the course of a day out of the garbage or the landfill, the better off we will all be in the future. One of the best and easiest ways to do this is by composting as much of the yard waste and kitchen waste we can. The results of doing this are many. The compost you produce can be used as an amendment to your garden, lawn or potting soil. It can be used as mulch, particularly nice in perennial and vegetable gardens where you are doing a lot of digging. It is one of the best products to add to heavy clay soil to break it up and allow it to drain better. It is an incredible fertilizer and will not burn plants. The composting process forms microorganisms that help plants flourish and be healthy.