Cathy Cromell

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-01-2022

By composting food scraps, yard waste, and other ingredients, you create nutrient-rich compost to add to your garden and landscape, and you minimize the waste sent to landfills. Home composting is a great way to be greener and do something good for the environment while seeing major benefits right at home.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Composting provides you with rich organic matter that does wonders to improve the quality of your garden soil. Whether you sprinkle compost on the surface of the soil or work it in, your garden plants and landscape will grow healthier and stronger thanks to the addition. Your garden benefits from compost in the following ways: Incorporates organic matter to feed microorganisms and macroorganisms that maintain a healthy soil food web Enriches soil with nutrients for plant growth Releases nutrients slowly so they don’t leach away as some synthetic fertilizers do Improves soil structure Promotes drainage and aeration in clay soil Enhances moisture and nutrient retention in sandy soil Reduces soil compaction Inhibits erosion Suppresses soil-borne diseases and pests Attracts earthworms, nature’s best soil builders

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Organic matter high in carbon — what composters commonly call browns — provides energy for decomposer organisms as they consume and break down the contents of your compost pile. Organic matter high in nitrogen — called greens — supplies the decomposers with protein. Maintain well-fed composting organisms with these varied ingredients. BrownsGreens Dry leaves Kitchen scraps Woody plant trimmings Coffee grounds and filters Straw Leafy plant trimmings Pine needles Grass clippings Sawdust Manure Paper products Feathers, fur, and hair

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

A great thing about composting is that it can take as much or as little time as you want or need it to. If your time is limited and you want to speed up the process to get compost fast, follow these tips: Increase the surface area of your ingredients. Before adding it to your compost, chop, shred, crack, whack, and smack organic matter into small pieces. (It’s a good stress reliever!) Your effort increases total surface area and creates open wounds in the materials, allowing soil organisms easy access to begin consuming and breaking them down. Take the damp sponge test. Starting a compost pile with too-dry ingredients or allowing ingredients to dry out without remoistening is a direct route to slow decomposition. Fast-acting compost piles contain about 40 to 60 percent water. Squeeze handfuls of compost from various sections of the pile to check its moisture level. Everything should feel like a wrung-out sponge. Turn and rewet materials as needed to maintain this level of moisture. Air it out. Soil organisms require oxygen just as you do. When air supplies are depleted, the organisms die without reproducing in sufficient numbers to keep decomposition zipping along. Keep the little critters in your compost pile well-supplied with oxygen by turning the pile completely every week or two (or three). If your time is limited, stick a compost fork or aerating tool into the pile to stir things up. This action doesn’t generate as much oxygen throughout the pile as a total turnover, but it does an acceptable job and only takes a minute or two.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Your compost pile isn’t a trash can. Some materials definitely don’t qualify as compost ingredients because they contain pathogens, attract pests, or cause other problems. You must take care to add only the right organic ingredients to feed the decomposition process. Leave out the following items: Ashes from charcoal barbecues: Dispose of this residue in the trash, not your compost pile or bin. It contains sulfur oxides and other chemicals you don’t want to incorporate into your compost. Ashes from fireplaces or wood stoves: Small amounts of ash (a few handfuls per pile) are okay if you have acidic soil. Never use wood ashes if your soil is alkaline, however, because the ash increases alkalinity. Disease- or insect-infested plant material: Pathogens and pests can survive the composting process if the heap doesn’t get hot enough. Just leave this material out — better safe than sorry! Meat, bones, grease, fats, oils, or dairy products: This kitchen waste may turn rancid and attract rodents and other pests. Waste: Feces from cats (including soiled litter), dogs, birds, pigs, and humans may contain harmful pathogens that aren’t killed during decomposition. Weeds with seed heads: Toss the leafy foliage into your compost as a source of green nitrogen, but send weed seeds to the trash. If seeds survive the decomposition process, they’ll sprout wherever you spread finished compost.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

You need very little equipment to start composting. Before you buy, visit garden centers or home improvement and hardware stores and try out some hand tools. Their length and weight should be comfortable for you to wield over extended periods of turning or shoveling organic matter. The basic tools to get you started composting are Compost fork or pitchfork: Long, thin tines allow you to hoist and toss large loads of organic matter efficiently. Shovel or spade: These tools help you turn almost-finished compost or incorporate finished compost into your garden. If you already own either one, you’re set. Hose and spray nozzle: Moisture is an essential component of a fast-acting compost pile. Your hose should reach easily from the outdoor faucet to your compost area. Add an adjustable nozzle that allows you to fine-tune the spray level, and turn it off to conserve water while you’re adding or mixing organic matter.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Because there are so many types of composters on the market, finding the right one for you can be tricky. Compost containers (despite some of the marketing materials that accompany them) aren't magical devices whereby you drop in straw, wave your wand-like compost thermometer, and presto — out spills black gold! The basic needs of decomposer organisms must still be met, including an appropriate mix of carbon and nitrogen materials chopped into small pieces, moisture and aeration during the process, and sufficient mass to build up and retain temperature levels. Your efforts in meeting these requirements favor the types of mesophilic and thermophilic organisms that do the bulk of the composting work. Considering these options when choosing a container: Size: Keep in mind that a container's size is often the limiting factor in its ability to produce compost quickly. If the container holds less than 1 cubic yard (1 cubic meter) of materials (the minimum size for efficient decomposition), you can still work with it. But you need to manage the contents, air, moisture, and temperature more regularly if you want speedy compost, just as you would with a freestanding pile or homemade bin. If you're in no hurry and just want a tidy receptacle to contain a relatively small amount of organic leftovers, then container size is not as important a factor. Weight: If it's a tumbler, you want to be able to easily rotate it when it's full of heavy, wet organic matter. If it's not a tumbler, and you use just one container, it's nice to be able to lift it up and off the organic matter to set it aside for turning or reloading. Height: Make sure you can easily lift your pitchfork or shovel loaded with organic materials into the container. It's typically less fatiguing to rest your pitchfork or shovel on the side of the container as you empty it, rather than to hoist it upwards above shoulder level. Assembly required: Most bins require some assembly. Connectors such as screws or bolts usually hold up longer than plastic tabs that crack or break after a season or two in extreme weather. Look for sturdy, rigid construction at joints. Loose connections can come apart and cause the container to collapse when you're poking around in the bin. Lids: Look for sufficiently large top openings to add fresh organic matter. Will your loaded-up pitchfork or shovel fit with room to spare? Or do you need to use your hands to stuff materials in? Pest deterrents: Lids should tighten securely to protect against enterprising pests and strong winds. At the same time, you want to be able to lift lids to add more organic matter without a lot of fuss. Access panels: Some units offer sliding trap doors at the bottom to provide access to the finished compost. Check the dimensions to see whether your spade will fit inside. Otherwise, you'll need to scoop compost out by hand or use a hand trowel. Aeration and drainage holes: Air and water are important ingredients in composting. If bins are fully enclosed, there must be some method for allowing air in and moisture out. Without drainage, the contents of the container turn wet and stinky and the decomposition process slows.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

All the tools you really need to start composting are a long-handled fork, a spade or shovel, and something with which to chop up larger stems and prunings. But like most jobs in the garden, having the right tools for the task makes it a whole lot easier. Here's a list of the best tools for basic composting tasks: Mixing things up with a pitchfork or compost fork: Pitchforks and compost forks have four or five long, thin, tapered, and upward-curving tines designed to efficiently glide into a pile of organic material, allowing you to hoist and pitch it to a new location. These forks are perfect for moving large clumps of bulky, lightweight organic matter, such as hay, straw, leaves, and plant trimmings. Use them to build new compost piles and turn them until the organic matter is fairly decomposed. Digging in with a soil fork: A soil fork is useful for turning almost-finished compost or digging heavy finished compost from the pile and incorporating it into garden beds. Digging and moving dirt with shovels and spades: Generally, a shovel is a tool designed for moving material, with a raised lip on each side of the blade to stop bits from falling off. A spade has a sharp, straight head and is used for digging. Shovels and spades are available in various styles, with slight variations to enhance specific gardening tasks, such as trenching for irrigation lines, edging lawns, or transplanting perennials: Rounded-blade shovel: A rounded-blade shovel serves as an all-purpose tool for gardening tasks such as turning almost-finished compost, shoveling finished compost from a bin, incorporating compost into garden beds, and digging transplant holes in already-loose, sandy, or loamy soils. Pointed-blade shovel: A pointed-blade shovel is the most versatile choice if you buy only one digging implement. It performs the same chores as the rounded-blade shovel, while also allowing easier digging into compacted clay soils. The pointed blade is useful for chopping up organic matter into smaller pieces before tossing it into the compost pile. Keeping things moist with a good-quality hose: In composting, easy access to water is important because moisture is an essential component of a successful composting effort. A cheap hose will plague you forever, kinking, cracking, and refusing to coil easily until you finally give up and buy a better one. Splurge on a good-quality hose at the outset and add a nozzle that allows you to turn the flow on and off. Moving compost in buckets or tarps: Compost transport around the garden can be as thrifty and low-tech as a heavy-duty plastic builder's bucket or a tarp. A bucket is ideal for moving small quantities of compost. Hauling compost with wheelbarrows or garden carts: If you generate a lot of compost and have a big yard with lots of plants and planting areas to haul your lovely compost to, a wheelbarrow or garden cart is an asset. They come in all sizes, shapes, and weights.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Although a simple compost pile will certainly give you nice, rich organic matter for your garden and keep your food waste out of landfills, it isn't always the best option. In some situations, it makes more sense to compost in a container. Acceptable landscape aesthetics vary widely by individual, neighborhood, and community standards. If you're fortunate to live where local government encourages home composting to reduce solid waste sent to landfills, you may be surrounded by supportive neighbors who also compost. On the other hand, you may be surrounded by those who are less enthusiastic and don't want to see your mounds of organic matter from their backyard or windows. Using containers that hide organic matter with fully enclosed sides or containers that you can tuck discretely into out-of-view locations forestalls potential complaints. Other good reasons to employ containers in your composting efforts include the following: Containers keep your stockpiles of dried materials, such as leaves, straw, and sawdust, under control until you need them. Without some type of holding unit, your carefully collected ingredients might end up scattered around the yard the next time a mighty wind blows through. Keeping kitchen scraps in and pests out is another important benefit offered by containers that are completely enclosed and feature secure lids.. When it comes to efficient composting, maintaining the overall size and shape of your original pile of ingredients is easier within the confines of containers. When compost materials have sufficient mass (at least 1 cubic yard), they're better able to self-insulate to maintain consistent moisture levels and higher temperatures, conditions that speed decomposition. Fully enclosed bins help organic matter retain moisture, a characteristic that's useful if you live in an arid climate. Decomposition slows down when the compost pile dries out. If you live in a rainy climate, enclosed bins keep heavy rains from soaking organic matter. Wet piles turn anaerobic and smelly. Some bins offer insulating qualities that help increase and maintain higher temperatures inside.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Your compost pile is a food web, containing groups of ever-larger inhabitants consuming plant material and each other. Together, they take your kitchen scraps and manure and other stuff and transform it into wonderfully rich growing material. The major players are the chemical decomposers and the physical decomposers. Chemical decomposers Four specific microbes are involved in chemical decomposition in your compost pile: Bacteria: These single-celled organisms are the most numerous chemical decomposers working your pile. The types and numbers of bacteria vary with each pile you construct. The more variety in your ingredients, the more variety in your decomposers. Different bacteria thrive at different temperature ranges. Actinomycetes: As bacteria populations consume all the easy-to-break-down compounds, such as simple sugars, actinomycetes take over to work on complex organic materials, such as bark and fibrous or woody stems. Fungi: Fungi in your compost pile break down tough organic matter that earlier rounds of decomposers leave behind, such as dry, acidic, or high-carbon materials. Most fungi require less nitrogen than bacteria do, so fungi are important decomposers in piles with high-carbon materials, such as wood chips or sawdust. Protozoa: Like bacteria, protozoa are microscopic, one-celled organisms that appear as primary and secondary consumers in your compost. Physical decomposers Many physical decomposers, such as beetles and millipedes, are large enough to easily spot from above. Others, such as mites and springtails, are tiny, although still visible with the naked eye if you scoop up a handful of compost and peer closely. Nematodes (roundworms): In your compost pile, nematodes (roundworms) consume decaying plant material and eat other decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi. Mites: Although spider mites are notable garden pests, many beneficial mites help degrade organic matter in your compost pile. For example, mold mites feed primarily on yeasts in organic debris. Springtails: These intriguing little wingless insects measure from 1/16 inch up to 1/4 inch in length. They are beneficial occupants of your compost pile, chewing on decomposing plant matter, grains, bacteria, fungi, algae, pollen, and even insect feces. Springtails are highly susceptible to drying out. Thus, you'll most likely spy them in the moister environs of your compost pile. Sowbugs and pillbugs: Very similar in appearance, these terrestrial crustaceans breathe with gills, so they require living accommodations. Millipedes and centipedes: Millipedes feed on moist decaying plant matter, helping break down the contents of your compost pile. However, centipedes feed only on living creatures, especially insects and insect larvae, and may use your compost pile as a hunting ground. Centipede bites can be painful, although they're not usually life threatening unless the victim has allergic reactions or is a small child. If you have a bad reaction to a bite, consult your physician or poison control center immediately. Beetles: Numerous beetle species operate throughout your compost pile, both during their larval life stage and as adult beetles. Grubs feed on rotting organic matter. Beetles may consume organic matter but also seek prey such as fly larvae (maggots), mites, and nematodes. Snails and slugs: You may choose to destroy snails and slugs because if they still reside in the finished compost when you spread it around your garden, you've just given them a free pass to the head of the buffet line. Ants: Most ants are beneficial in a compost pile, eating all kinds of stuff, including fungi, food scraps, seeds, and even other ants. They also help develop richer compost by transporting important minerals such as phosphorous and potassium from one area to another. Flies: Adult flies feed on organic material and deposit their eggs in compost piles to provide a ready food source for hatching larvae (maggots). Maggots, in turn, are eaten by mites and other creatures, so it's all part of the food web. Earthworms: Earthworms are the ultimate composting machines, consuming and digesting organic matter to deposit their rich waste.