Making Compost-Garden Gold

A simple, 4-ingredient recipe will give you a constant supply of nutrient rich garden gold.

All you need is: Waste Material, Water, Oxygen and Heat.

Waste Material

What to compost:

Leaves
Clippings
Wood ashes
Kitchen rinse water
Cardboard
Paper (not colored)
Coffee grounds and filters
Fruit peels and scraps
Egg shells
Vegetable peels and scraps
Dryer lint
Hair
Grass clippings
Weeds (don't add seed heads)
Nut shells
Tea leaves
Manure from herbivores

When adding kitchen scraps to your pile, mix them together with yard waste, and turn the pile to cover them. You'll be less likely to attract pest animals.

What NOT to Compost:

Cat & dog droppings
Coal ashes
Meat & dairy products
Diseased plants
Weed seeds

It's best to avoid composting any animal products such as meat, bones, dog food and dairy products. They will attract rodents, AND they smell bad. Don't add plant material from diseased or infested plants. If the temperature does not get high enough, you'll risk spreading the problem with the compost. Same goes for weed seeds; the last thing you need is to spread weeds!

Water

Your compost pile should feel like a wrung-out sponge. If there is no rain and pile dries out, you can water it with the hose, or add kitchen rinse and cooking water.Turn the pile to distribute the water evenly.

If the pile stays too wet, it will get slimy and smelly. If you have a drenching rain, turn the pile afterwards, and if it is still too wet, incorporate some dry leaves or yard waste. Turn and stir to loosen and aerate throughout.

Oxygen

The organisms that are breaking down the compost need air. You provide it by turning the pile. Use a pitchfork to stir and turn your pile every week or even more frequently. The more you turn, the faster you'll have mature compost. Make turning your compost easy with a tumbling composter. Just give it a spin.

Heat

Heat is the natural result of the microbes breaking down your compost ingredients. With the right mix of waste, water and air, your pile should naturally heat up[. If is doesn't, you can add a compost starter. Then, next time you start a pile, add some of your mature compost to the new batch to help heat it up. Ideal temperature is 140-160 degrees. Composting is a natural process, and your materials WILL decompose, eventually at any temperature. But keeping it hot gives you compost faster, keeps it from getting smelly, and kills weed seeds.