Composting transforms plant and other matter into rich soil-like material you can use on your lawn and in your garden. Yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 24 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. That's a lot of waste to send to landfills when it could become useful and environmentally beneficial compost instead!
Here’s how to compost:
Find a place out of the way in your back yard. Start a pile, mixing together some of the following (about 1 green to 3 browns)
Greens for nitrogen: Grass clippings, spent flowers and plants, table scraps, eggshells (crushed), fruit scraps, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and tea bags.
Browns for carbon: Dry leaves, sawdust, shredded newspaper, straw, small twigs, wood chips, hay, nutshells.
Do not use
Meat, fish, bones, dairy such as cheese, fats, grease or cooking oils, diseased plants, invasive weeds, BBQ ashes or coal.
For example,
1. make a pile or fill a bin with 1/3 grass clippings (green) and 2/3 brown leaves (brown), add kitchen scraps (see above).
2. Add water to keep moist, mix well.
3. Aerate for oxygen: turn every 7-10 days. (If compost does not get enough oxygen it will start to smell).
4. Harvest: When the pile is dark brown, course material with a fresh earthy smell (can’t see original ingredients) it is ready. This may take 6 weeks to 6 months.
5. Use for soil building (mix in 2-4 weeks before planting); garden fertilizer—put around plants; lawn feeding; potting mix (sterilize if use for seedlings—microwave or pour boiling water over).
For more information: www.howtocompost.com.
