Environment Talk - Composting in Your Own Backyard

If you love the environment, then you ought to think about composting. Composting is the process of turning waste into organic fertilizer. While wide range composting is done in industries, it can also be done on a small scale. In fact, there are those who make their own natural compost in their own gardens, yards, and small farms. Any type of small space on your property can serve well for your composting area. You need not be an expert since making compost on your own is very easy and very beneficial not only to the environment but also to you.

With the help of compost bins, you can make your very own organic fertilizer. Whether you have a small farm, a humble garden or backyard, or even just a very small lot, you can have your very own composting corner. Instead of throwing away all the scrap that you collect from your home every single day, you can segregate your trash and waste and choose the ones, which can be turned to compost. While most people in the past years would just settle with the home-made compost bins, you can now maximize a ready made compost tumbler which can be easily bought online or offline. The big advantage of using a compost tumbler over compost bins is that you need not have difficulty in turning the compost manually using a pitchfork.

With the use of a compost bin or tumbler, you can turn your very ordinary kitchen scrap, fallen leaves and branches and even used paper and cartons into high nutrient fertilizer which you can use in your own garden or farm. If you do not have any personal use for such fertilizer, then you can easily make money out of it as organic fertilizer can be sold easily as they are preferred over chemical fertilizers.

In making your own natural fertilizer, you can always settle for home-made compost bins or you can just buy one. Remember, though, to invest in a sturdy compost tumbler that can last you for many years. It would also be wise to have a tumbler that lets the process of turning and aeration easier. Search online and offline for the best deals in compost tumblers and bins so you can start right off to taking care of the environment by making your own home compost. Not only will you be assured of cheaper and healthier fertilizer but also a home that is free from too much unused waste.

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The Basics of Composting

Composting is an essential part of any serious gardener's routine. It's an easy and necessary way to create good nutritious soil for use in planting. Many gardeners take pride in their composting and think of it as a type of art form.

Composting is a process of humans using natural processes to achieve a desired product. With mounding and composting contraptions, we are only speeding up what would happen on its own in nature. By composting, you are creating a win-win situation. You are getting a valuable gardening product, while cutting down on how much gets thrown into your trash can, and ultimately dumps and incinerators. By composting, not only that the municipal dump has less "stock" to worry about, but it also aids in increasing the soil fertility, which happens to be the main purpose of composting. Composting will, in the long term, save you money by providing a valuable plant medium.

There are really no set rules on how to go about composting perfectly. It is a learned art form, and you will figure out what works as you go along. Really there are no set right and wrong answers. The first thing you'll need to determine is where to place this somewhat unattractive and smelly pile of rotting debris.

Selecting a proper location is essential, taking into consideration the accessibility and asthetics. You don't want to choose a place which is too far away from your main source of composting materials. Will it be easy to get the kitchen scraps to the pile? At the same time, however, a location too close to the house will result in an unpleasant odor.

Another key factor in location is the mound's relationship to water. Water is a key element in triggering this process to take place. Whether near a ditch, gutter drip, or hose, your compost heap needs water in order to decompose properly.

Meanwhile, the sight should not be oversaturated and sloppy. It should be level and well drained, but with access to water.

Once your location has been selected, you'll need to determine what kinds of compost materials you are going to use. You might think that you'll just throw everything onto the heap, but this might not be such a good thing. Weeds, for example, do not make a very productive compost material, and should be avoided. One must also consider the carbon:nitrogen ratio. A perfect 30:1 ratio is ideal for rapid decomposition. The higher the carbon level, the slower the process will happen. Meanwhile, if the nitrogen gets too high, an odor problem will occur.

To clear this up, you can think of carbon as brown materials and nitrogen as green ones. Carbon materials for your pile include paper, dead branches, and other dead wood ingredients. Food scraps, manure (even though it's brown), and grass clippings.

When adding to the pile, add the new composting materials, some soil, and give the heap a sprinkle of water. The soil will house microorganism, which will help to heat things up. Keep your pile moist but not too damp. Good air circulation is also key for optimum productivity. This can be achieved by turning the pile occasionally to provide fresh air to the internal regions. The infusion of this air should also help to keep bad odors under control.

Your compost heap should maintain a temperature of between 100 and 140 degrees F. Any higher and the microorganisms could die. You can use a soil thermometer on occasion to check the temp of your pile.

Once your compost is dark, crumbly and has that earthy smell, it should be ready to use.

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Composting Bin Or Compost Pile? How to Decide

When you begin composting at home for the first time, you'll be faced with the question of whether you should make compost in a simple pile, or use a compost bin.

There are pros and cons to each option.

Hard core gardeners will often swear by compost piles, because that's what they use.

A pile works best if it is relatively large: 3 feet by 3 feet, piled as high as you can go. You'll want to gather up all your materials in advance. Leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, garden debris or whatever you're going to compost.

Mix it all up into a great big pile, and it will start to heat up and break down into compost. A pile can work quickly too, within a matter of weeks if you have the right mix of materials, you keep it moist, and mix it up a couple of times per week for aeration.

But there are a few problems with this scenario.

1. Do you really have enough material to make a 3 foot by 3 foot compost pile? Most people don't, except for in the fall when they have large amounts of leaves.

2. Are you willing to do all the work of mixing up the material for this huge pile, and then keeping it stirred up a couple of times a week for several weeks?

If you're a serious gardener or composter, then you probably will because you enjoy it. But if you're a casual composter, it's starting to sound like a lot of work, isn't it?

Do you have room for a big, ugly pile of debris? And are your neighbors going to freak out if they see it?

4. What about pets or rodents getting into the pile? If you are composting kitchen scraps, they can be attracted to your pile.

A compost bin, on the other hand, neatly contains all of your materials inside of the bin. So it's often a lot nicer to look at, and it keeps pets and rodents away. Some cities require a composter and do not even allow uncovered piles.

So what are the disadvantages of using a bin?

1. The main disadvantage of using a composter is that it won't typically hold as much material as in a giant pile.

2. A manufactured bin can be expensive. Some compost tumblers cost hundreds of dollars. Even a basic bin that holds 80 or 90 gallons of material can cost $100 and up.

There are plenty of plans available online for building your own, if you're handy. But there's still the cost of materials, and the time involved with making it yourself.

If you have a lot of materials and you don't mind the work, then composting with a pile might be the way to go for you. After all, it's how the serious gardeners often do it.

But if you're just starting out and you want to start casually, a bin is probably the way to go.

Lars Handley is a Master Composter based in Dallas, Texas. Learn how you can make compost faster and more easily at his web site, Compostinstructions.com. You can ask your question about composting there, and get an answer directly from Lars.

Composting and Their Structures

Selecting a structure for your compost pile not all that important, what is important is that you are going to be composting.

Composting has several requirements that need to be in place in order to decompose properly. The requirements are size of the compost pile, air, fragment size, dry matter, heat, green matter and moisture. To start with you need to make sure your structure will provide for the minimum compost size. A compost container structure or pile that is too small won't be able to create enough heat for the organic matter to decompose. The minimum size of you compost pile, in order for it to decompose properly, should be about seven cubic feet. Seven cubic feet is approximately 55 gallons or 208 liters.

A compost structure is not necessary for composting but it will prevent the wind and pillaging animals from carrying anything away. If you live in a rural area that is not very populated you can get by with an open compost pile. A compost structure is a necessity if you live in a high density urban area. You can purchase a structure or you can build your own. Many people will cover their compost piles with plastic in order to prevent the outer layers from drying out too much. You will need to remove the covers occasionally to add more water, plant material and to aerate the pile.

Structures built of wire can have drying problems. This all depends on how many sides are exposed and whether they are on the windward side or not. Wire mesh compost bins are generally the most versatile of compost bins. They are fairly simple to build and maintain. Your compost will be well aerated, it is easy to move, resistant to rodents, easier to manipulate the finished compost, inexpensive to build, and contact with your soil for microorganisms and earthworms.You will often have to use plastic covers or tarps with using a wire bin.

Compact plastic compost bins work well for small yards that don't have a lot of plant wastes. Some of these structures are strictly vertical where you add fresh material to the top and your finished compost is removed from a drawer at the bottom. For this particular structure you will need an aeration tool to reach inside to stir the contents on a regular basis. The plastic compost bins are available through garden centers, some garden nurseries, catalogs, and on-line. If you decide to use a metal barrel for composting, you will have to drill holes to allow air to enter. You will also have to turn the barrel on its side to roll it for mixing and aerating compost.

A tumbler compost bin is a structure that has a drum that is placed between vertical uprights and you need to manually turn the compost tumbler for mixing. They are easy to mix and turn, the compost will be well aerated, you won't have the rodents and it is very easy to move around.

Fixed compost containers are stationary, and are usually situated in a permanent location. The materials that are used for building are usually blocks, brick, wire, or wood. They will have plenty of contact with your soil for microorganisms and earthworms, and are very easy to camouflage.

The multiple compost bins work is based on moving your compost from one bin to the next. Once the first bin's compost has been filled and has decomposed, you then turn it into the second and so on to the third bin. Most of the finished compost will now be in the last bin, and you can start using it for your garden starting at the bottom of the pile. Your compost will have plenty of contact with your soil for microorganisms and earthworms, they can easily be camouflaged, easier to turn compost for aeration, and it is much easier to work with large quantities of compost.

A Freestanding compost mixer is convenient in that it is easy to build and maintain. You can add your organic material as needed. They are not expensive to build, will have plenty of contact with your soil for microorganisms and earthworms, it won't take much effort to maintain it, and you can change its location as needed. 

Barbara is testing her skills at composting and enjoying the research behind it. Many of her articles pertain to the garden and the great outdoors. Come and visit us at http://www.gardenersgardensupplies.com for more interesting ideas and ways to plant.

Composting Recycles Vegetable Garden Wastes

To make next year's vegetable garden even better than this year we have a few chores to do in the fall. If you take care of things at the end of the growing season, you'll have less disease to worry about and starting off next year will be easier. When the tomato plants stop flowering and when their foliage turns brown, they're done. This is the time to harvest the last tomatoes and dig out the dying plants. Hopefully, all your hard work paid off in abundant and tasty fruits. But what do you do with the leftover plant parts?

The old foliage and bad fruits can be burned, especially if disease is suspected. Do your tomatoes have an off-color? Maybe they're black or just spotted with black. Are they rotting on the vine? Do the leaves have a mottled look or are they spotted with brown or black dots? In any case burning the old foliage from your garden at the end of the growing season is one remedy for starting disease-free in the spring. Viruses and bacteria and all kinds of blight problems can be taken care of by burning the dying vegetation.

Of course, some neighborhoods won't allow burning and sometimes it's just not practical, so instead try composting. Compost temperatures can get high enough to kill disease-causing bugs. Many closed system compost bins are available on the market in case you don't have room for a great pile of decaying leaves and garden wastes. These tumbler-type bins really speed up the composting time and as an added bonus they keep the smells inside.

The worst way of getting rid of garden vegetation is to bag it up and place it at the curb for trash pickup. Does that stuff in the bag go into a landfill? What a waste of time and effort, not to mention petroleum products in the bags and to fuel the trash pickup truck. Why waste all those good nutrients? With all the money spent on plastic trash bags and trash pickup fees, one could easily save up for a compost bin.

Compost has been called black gold because it is so valuable to the vegetable plants in your garden. If you haven't tried composting your vegetable garden wastes, please give it a try. You'll be surprised at the results and you'll be helping to reduce your dependence on petroleum, too. Once you set up a composting system you can use it all season long to take care of kitchen scraps, plant trimmings, yard waste and leftovers from the garden.

Be kind to the environment by composting your garden wastes. Instead of putting those excess nutrients in a landfill where they will likely never be useful again, help nature out by recycling those old plants into compost. Blending compost into your garden soil will add nutrients and boost the fertility of your soil for next year's garden.

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Composting To A Successful Garden

Have you ever had really great soil for gardening around your house? Few do. In my case, the clay-like soil prevented good water drainage and was difficult for cultivating new plants. At other times the sand content was too high, providing the opposite problem - water retention. Additionally, a proper soil nutrient for great plants was missing. One could replace all the soil - a very expensive time consuming process, build raised beds or work to improve existing conditions. To do this, composting is the answer.

Composting is the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that is excellent for adding to houseplants or enriching garden soil. It is a great way to help the environment. Composting is nature's process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost.

Composting is a lot like cooking, and the easiest compost recipe calls for blending parts of green or wet material, high in nitrogen and brown or dry material, high in carbon.

Materials - Materials that are excellent for composting are kitchen waste, like coffee grounds, wastes, things you might throw down the garbage disposal. Meat, bones, eggs, cheese, fats and oils are not recommended for backyard composting because they attract animals. Composting materials are divided into two types, green and brown. Green materials include green leafy plant residues like weeds, grass clippings, vegetable tops and flower clippings. Brown materials include fall leaves, straw, sawdust, wood chips and shredded newspapers. To speed up decomposition, use two-parts green material to one-part brown material. For best results, mix materials high in nitrogen such as clover, fresh grass clippings, and livestock manure with those high in carbon such as dried leaves.

Compost Bin - First, choose a location for your compost bin. Place the bin at least 20 feet away from the nearest house. Avoid placing the bin against a tree or wooden building; the compost could cause the wood to decay. Bins can be built from scrap lumber, old pallets, snow fence, chicken wire, or concrete blocks. When building a composting bin, such as with chicken wire, scrap wood, or cinder blocks, be sure to leave enough space for air to reach the pile. Usually when building a composting bin, one side is left open or can be opened to facilitate turning the materials. Once your bin is in place, you can begin immediately to fill it with yard wastes and kitchen scraps. While a bin will help contain the pile, it is not absolutely necessary - some prefer to compost in a large open area.

Process - Basically, backyard composting is an acceleration of the same process nature uses. If left alone, these same materials will eventually break down, decompose and produce soil rich materials. Eventually, the rotting leaves are returned to the soil, where living roots can finish the recycling process by reclaiming the nutrients from the decomposed leaves. Home composting provides ideal conditions to greatly reduce the time it takes

Cooking refers to the process where the compost heats up and breaks down, which is necessary before you can use it as soil additive in the garden and on your house plants. The cooking process takes about 4-8 weeks once you stop adding to the bin. Don't be surprised by the heat of the pile or if you see worms, both of which are part of the decomposition process. If you want to accelerate the process, turn it every four days, but more frequently than that is not recommended.

Carbon - Carbon and Nitrogen are the essential elements of a compost pile. Carbon rich materials are referred to as "browns". Carbon-rich, relatively low-nutrient material are slow to decay. The rate at which breakdown occurs depends on several factors - oxygenation, temperature, water content, surface area size, and the carbon to nitrogen ratio Soak high carbon materials with water before composting. Alternate six to eight inch layers of high carbon materials such as leaves and other dry plant debris, with layers of high nitrogen material such as grass clippings, kitchen waste or manure.

Nitrogen - Nitrogen is the most important food nutrient, because a nitrogen shortage drastically slows the composting process. Brown materials composted alone require supplemental nitrogen to feed the decomposing bacteria. Greens are quick to rot and they provide important nitrogen and moisture. Add one-quarter to one-half cup nitrogen fertilizer per bushel of brown material. If you are low on high-nitrogen material, you can add a small amount of commercial fertilizer containing nitrogen. In other words, the ingredients placed in the pile should contain 25 to 30 times as much carbon as nitrogen. Some ingredients with higher nitrogen content are green plant material such as crop residues, hay, grass clippings, animal manures.

Manure - Manure may be used to increase your compost piles nitrogen supply. Animal manure should only be collected from vegetarian animals, such as horses, cows, sheep, poultry, etc. Sheep and cattle manure don't drive the compost heap to as high a temperature as poultry or horse manure, so the heap takes longer to produce the finished product.

Moisture - Moisture and oxygen are important factors in the composting process as both influence temperature. An active compost pile will be warm - frequently between 75 - 85 degrees. Every time you add fresh grass or kitchen waste you add some moisture retention to your compost pile. Moisture is provided by rain, but you may need to water or cover the pile to keep it damp. To test for adequate moisture, reach into your compost pile and grab a handful of material and squeeze it; if a few drops of water come out, it's probably got enough moisture, if it doesn't, add water.

Eliminate Odor - The most common problem is unpleasant, strong odors. To prevent this ensure a good flow of oxygen in the compost, don't overload the pile with food waste so that the food sits around too long, and if the bin contents become too wet add in more dry materials.

Home composting is both fun and easy to do, and does not require large investments of time, money and effort to be successful. Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into valuable food for your garden. Composting is a way to reduce the volume of organic wastes and return them to the soil to benefit growing plants. Your garden will love you for it.

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How to Choose a Composter For Backyard Composting

Let's start our discussion of composters by establishing exactly what constitutes a composter. A composter is a bin or container in which organic waste material are placed to breakdown and decay through the process of decomposition. The result is a nutrient-rich compost, which is great to use in your flower beds or your garden. A composter can be as simple as a homemade compost bin made out of recycled pallets or it can be a manufactured compost bin or compost tumbler.

Two benefits of manufactured composters are they usually do a better job of keeping the critters out of your organic waste, and in most cases manufactured composters speed the composting processing by containing the heat generated by the composting process thereby speeding up the decomposition of your organic materials. Thus, you end up with compost for your garden more quickly than composting in a pile or heap and often with less effort.

What kinds of composters are available? Basically, composters come in three different types: compost bins, compost tumblers and worm composting bins. Each composter has its advantages and disadvantages.

The most basic composter is a compost bin. The average compost bin on the market is made out of heavy-duty plastic and is usually black or dark-green in color, which is great for retaining heat (remember heat is good to help speed up the composting process).

Compost bins are simple, easy to put together and are usually less expensive than compost tumblers. Most of the bins are no more than three feet high and are very unobtrusive and can be placed in a discreet location in your yard. Again, most manufactured compost bins have a lid to keep out varmints and some sort of door to allow access to the finished compost. One disadvantage is that it is sometimes difficult to turn or mix the compost materials. Turning or mixing the compost materials helps ensure more thorough composting. Compost bins hold an average of 80-160 gallons of compostable material and can produce finished compost in several months.

The next type of composter is a compost tumbler. A compost tumbler is usually a little more expensive than a compost bin, but it has definite advantages. A compost tumbler, as the name implies, allows the composting chamber to be turned on its axis, which makes for easy mixing of the organic materials. Compost tumblers can produce finished compost more quickly than most compost bins because of the ability to turn and mix the compost materials.

The only work required when composting with a compost tumbler is to give the compost tumbler a spin or two each week and when new organic material is added. Most compost tumbler hold similar volumes as compared to compost bins and can produce finished compost in several weeks.

The last type of composter is a worm composting bin. As you might suspect, worms are involved in the composting process with worm composting bins. The nice thing about a worm bin is that it can be used indoors. Now I know it sounds a little freaky to have worms in your house, but a worm bin is made to safely house the worms and compostable materials so that you don't have to worry about a smell or a mess.

The typical worm used in worm bins is a red brandling worm-the kind of worm most people use for fishing. The worm bin typically has several trays. The bottom tray is filled with moist bedding materials, such as shredded newspaper. Worms are then added and another tray is placed atop the tray containing the worms. In this tray you place your organic materials. The worms find their way into the upper tray and begin feasting on your garbage. The worms leave behind castings or worm poo, which is some of the most nutrient-rich compost available. After several weeks, these castings can be harvested and used in your garden.

The only concern with a worm bin is that you need to avoid temperature extremes if you keep your bin outside. It does not need to be in direct sunlight and as the evening temperature nears 40 degrees, it will be necessary to bring your worm bin into the garage or basement.

How much do I need to spend on a composter? The typical price range for a composter is from under $100.00 to around $400.00 depending on which model you purchase. Most compost bins are in the $100-$150 price range, and most compost tumblers are in the $200-$400 price range.

What is the best composter for me? To answer this question, you need to figure out what kind of composting method you might prefer. There are basically two kinds of composting methods-I call them the "patient composting method" and the "results-oriented composting method."

If you are the type of person who is not really in a hurry to have finished compost, and you are composting more out of a desire to do your part in helping the environment, you may want to consider some kind of compost bin. Compost bins fall under the "patient composting method" category because it usually takes several months before you have finished compost.

If, on the other hand, you are someone who wants to get on with things, you may want to consider a compost tumbler. Compost tumblers fall under the "results-oriented composting method" category because you can usually have finished compost in several weeks. For example, someone who is an avid gardener and wants a continuous supply of compost for his or her garden is one who should seriously consider a compost tumbler.

What composter do we recommend? I know you have a lot of information to think about, but we have some suggestions to help guide you in the right direction.

Cost Conscious Consumers may want to consider the Soil Saver Compost Bin
Value Conscious Consumers may want to consider the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler or the Envirocycle Compost Tumbler
Quality Conscious Consumers may want to consider the Jora JK270 Composter, the Jora JK125 Composter

Start composting! We hope that you have found this information helpful in deciding which composter will suit your composting needs. As a final resource, we have compiled reviews of our top nine composters in our Composter Buying Guide.

There is a composter out there for everyone. Go find yours today! Good luck and happy composting. Remember, "Don't throw it away, compost it!"

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Organic Gardener's Composting

In these days of generalized eco-awareness, it is easy to forget that a few short years ago, home gardeners were among the worst environmental offenders, cheerfully poisoning anything that annoyed them with whatever dreadful chemical that came to hand, unconscious of the long-term effects on fauna and flora, water and soil. Now, thank goodness, many gardeners know that their mandate is to heal the bit of earth in their charge. Composting our home and garden wastes is one of the simplest and most beneficial things we can do, both to cut down the quantity of wastes we produce, and to restore health to the soil we garden upon I can think of no better guide to the principles and techniques of composting than Steve Solomon. Whether you live in an urban condo or farm many acres, you will find in these pages practical, complete and accessible information that serves your needs, served up with the warmth and gentle humor that characterizes everything Steve does.

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Tips on Composting

Tips on compost use

To improve the quality of the soil, add compost. It will improve the physical condition of the soil and will increase the fertility of the soil.
To reduce insect pests and disease infestation, add compost to the soil.
For your garden, spread compost one inch thick
When you use compost, you may also choose not to use any mulch.
Produce it easily at home, just by dumping all your plant parts, lawn clipping, and kitchen waste to a trench or bin.
If you have problem of poor water holding capacity in your garden, add compost to improve water retention capacity of the soil.
For erosion problem in the garden, use compost on it.
If you are in southern climate, you may need to use compost each year, as in southern climate it decomposes faster
In northern climate, compost decomposes slow, so you need to add more compost again after 2 years or more.
Do not use improperly made compost. If the compost is not well decomposed, do not use it, as it may contain germs and weed seeds.
Buy vermicompost from a reputed seller only.
If you are using mulches and amendments in your garden, use only half inch of compost
If the supply of the compost is less, then you can side dress it. Place it around plants or rows.
Side dressing can be best done in late spring and early summer
In case of side dressing, work out the compost one inch away from the stem.
For shallow rooted crops, just leave the compost on the soil.
If you are practicing organic cultivation, then also you can use compost in your garden. But for certification, prepare your own compost or buy a compost which has been certified as organic.
For better health of the lawn, top dress it with compost every year or two.
Apply compost in the fall for maximum effect. You can also use it in early spring.
Add compost to the hole made for planting seeds and seedlings.
Adding compost to the hole at the time of planting is beneficial for the perennials
For annuals, one dose of compost will be more beneficial.
Ask for expert advice. Expert will be able to help you in case you have any problem.

Bikash is a netpreneur and work from home business consultant. He manages online businesses and helps people to start their own business. He is also a writer and blogger. He writes for The Anti 9-5 Guide and Internet Startup

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Low-cost, easy solution to yard waste. Adjustable bin holds over 14 bushels of composting ingredients. Easy to assemble and maintain. Made of rugged lightweight plastic. Due to the number of air holes, composting process takes place quickly. Retains heat and moisture for faster decomposing. Adjustable to over 3' in diameter and 36" tall.

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Composting Basics Using Compost Bins

Did you know that waste in excess of 60% that is created by the average U.S. household could be recycled or composted? Regrettably, only 8 percent of American waste is composted, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Did you also know that yard waste, such as grass trimmings, adds up to almost 20% of all garbage produced every year? When dumped into a landfill site, organic matter like food and grass trimmings occupy a large area and play a significant part in the formation of methane gas, a greenhouse gas that "remains in the atmosphere for approximately 9-15 years...and is over 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide" (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).

Composting organic matter like food and grass trimmings is simple, especially when using a purchased compost bin. Making a compost pile on your own is certainly an option, but compost bins on the market come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and time and again, make the process of composting virtually effortless. No matter how you choose to compost your organic wastes, the benefits of composting are indisputable. Composting helps the environment by decreasing greenhouse gases and other contaminants in the air that would be created because of simply throwing organic wastes into the local landfill or incinerator. Composting also saves money by providing you with free fertilizer for your garden. Finally, compost puts nutrients back into the soil, making your garden soil richer and plants healthier.

The initial phase in composting is to select a compost bin. Compost bins are obtainable in all shapes and sizes, so the size of your garden or yard is not an issue. Large compost bins let devoted gardeners with a sizeable growing area the ability to make enough compost to last throughout the growing season. On the other hand, small compost bins can fit in the kitchen or on the balcony of a small apartment home and provide enough compost for house plants and a small herb garden. Knowing how much time you wish to spend tending to your compost pile and how much space you have to devote to a compost bin will benefit you while you select the most appropriate compost bin.

Now that you have selected the best compost bin, it's time to begin filling it with organic matter. But can you put any kind of organic matter into a compost pile? Unfortunately, no. The common advice is to fill your compost bin with a mixture of 50 percent "browns," and 50 percent "greens." The "browns" add carbon to the mix and consist of some of the ingredients that follow:

Dried leaves
Straw
Chopped Cornstalks - must be shredded or chopped into very small pieces first
Shredded Paper
Shredded Cardboard
Paper Towels

"Greens" add nitrogen to the mix and comprise a few of the items that follow:

Grass Clippings
Garden Trimmings
Most Kitchen Wastes (see below for exceptions)
Fresh Hay
Manure from non-meat eating animals

Do not include the following types of organic matter into your compost bin unless properly prepared first:

Plants with diseases
Grass clippings with pesticides or other chemicals
Hedge trimmings and branches
Nut shells
Peat moss
Pine Cones and pine needles
Sawdust
Sod and soil
Weeds
Wood ashes
Wood chips

For information about how to prepare these types of organic matter for composting, visit the website of your local agricultural extension office.

Some organic matter does not belong in a compost bin. Never add the following items to the compost bin:

Animal related products that would attract pests and create an odor problem including bones; dairy products such as butter, cheese, mayonnaise, salad dressing, milk, yogurt, sour cream; fish scraps, meat
Other food wastes including cooked food, peanut butter, fatty or greasy foods
Manure from meat-eating animals (including humans)
Charcoal and briquettes
Dishwater
Glossy and/or colored paper
Sludge (biosolids)

Maintaining your compost pile depends on the type of compost bin you have selected. Some compost bins require that the pile be mixed periodically, but some compost bins require no mixing. Refer to the compost bin manufacturer's instructions for details.

By purchasing or building your own compost bin that meets your specific needs, and by following some basic rules and recommendations, you can create your own dollar stretching, earth friendly, plant enriching compost.

Trey Collier is owner of BackyardCity.com, North America's finest Outdoor Casual Living Store, designed and created to help fashion outdoor living spaces. Since 2001, BackyardCity.com has offered internet customers quality outdoor living products, including Compost Bins, at very reasonable prices.

A Simple Look at Home Composting

Composting is catching on. People are realizing the benefits of adding compost to your garden as well as the environmental benefits of recycling garden and kitchen waste. However, some articles and composting guides seem to give the impression that composting takes a lot of time and effort. That is simply not true. Composting is a process that occurs naturally all the time all around us. The point of home composting is to create the beneficial organic product for our use.

So what is compost? Compost is simply an organic material that is created from decomposed plant matter. When a plant dies, it slowly breaks down into a natural substance that enriches the soil. When you add compost to your garden, you are helping to improve the soil. This is very important because the plants you put in the ground use the nutrients that are found there. Adding organic material to your soil will help to replenish the nutrients and help the soil retain water longer.

Creating your own garden compost is a very simple thing to do. You just collect your garden and organic kitchen waste in a container or a pile and allow it to break down. Now you can add composting enhancers or other things to speed up the process, but nature does just fine on its own. You will want to add garden waste - plant trimmings etc. and lawn clipping to your mix. In addition, kitchen waste such as egg shells, produce waste and even cardboard egg cartons. Just make sure you tear up the cartons first!

Keeping your compost pile moist will help speed up the process as well. Sprinkle it with the garden hose every day or so. You don't want it to be soggy, but slightly moist. The organic material breaks down quicker when there is moisture present.

You can build or buy a container to keep your compost in. Many of the containers rotate so you can spin the compost to mix it well. Mixing your compost will help the compost to process a little faster and it helps to mix all the different types of material together. If you have your compost in a pile, you will need a pitch fork or a turning fork to rotate it.

You don't even need a set container for your compost. If you live in an area where there are no regulations about things like this, just set up your compost pile in a hidden corner of your property. Add your garden waste to the pile and turn it every few days or once a week. In fact, you don't really need to turn your compost. Start a pile with all your yard trimmings and continue to add them throughout the summer and fall. Then, in the spring turn the pile and remove the finished compost from the bottom. If you are only adding the compost to your garden in the spring, this is a great option for creating your own compost.

As you can see, creating your own compost is a very simple process. You can spend a lot of time turning and watering it for a quick turn around on the compost. Or you can just let nature do the work and collect the organic material once a year. No matter what method you choose, making your own compost is good for your garden and good for the environment!

Cecil enjoys working in the garden and tinkering around the house. He uses a folding utility cart to haul his garden tools as he works. He loves the convenience of a garden utility cart to make garden work much more simple!

The Organic Composting Diary - How to Compost Organically

Here is a taste of what you will learn inside The Organic Composting Diary:

--A simple explanation of composting; how it works, why it’s necessary and how to do it!

--A season by season explanation of composting

--Tips on Turning Compost

--How to Make Humus-step by step!

--Understanding how Temperature Effects Composting

--FAQ about Organic Composting

--How to find more organic composting than your home/land produces to grow even larger gardens

--How to keep down the smell of a compost/waste bucket

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Vegetable gardening - the composting process

Compost occurs on organic matter decomposition. This process is based on the activity of aerobic bacteria, micro-enterprises in some cases, worms and other insects and fungi. These micro-organisms, however, also require, air, water, food and warmth for the process to work effectively.

They air - composting microbes are aerobic (require air to work) .to be sure that there are respiratory tract in the pile of compost, break, and mix the ingredients and turn the battery regularly to aerate it.

Water - keeping reasonably wet compost for optimal conditions of compost heap. Too wet or too dry and the process will be slow.

Food (nitrogen) - the ingredients that add to its heap provided food for the microorganism ingredients are classified as browns or green.The right balance of green and Brown, also helps with the ventilation and moisture content of the heap.

Browns are materials dry plant and dead leaves of autumn e.g. straw, fallen, bark or even cardboard.

Green are garden plant materials e.g. cuts of grass, fruit or pieces of vegetables crudos.estos are generally high in nitrogen.

Warmth - generally the hottest compost heap more fast heat generated by the larger heap microbios.Un compostaje.El process also tends to be warmer.

Ingredients - what is due and not of not

The idea is to produce a balanced mixture of green and Brown ingredients, combined with optimal environmental conditions, producing a good quality compost.

Do include, falling leaves, paper carton, crushed, bark, straw and wood chips / Hay, imported some weed (without seeds), plants, algae, cuts of grass, green leaves, tea bags crushed shell egg, sawdust, coffee grounds and fruits.

Do not use grass clippings or plants which have been treated with herbicides or chemicals as they can contaminate the produced compost, materials, or products of human waste and animals, flesh, bones, fatty foods, diseased plants, resistant weeds or cooked vegetables.

Deposits of composting

There are many locations of composting, these include plastic or wooden trays rotation vessels and worm bins for compostaje.Usted could, of course, develop his own using recycled materials.

Paul Shipley A.I. Hort, DIP.H.(Inst.)(G)
http://www.shipleysgardens.co.UK