How To Make Backyard Compost
- May 12, 2009
- 126 Views
Writer
Jane_Gardner
Minimize the trash you send to a landfill and make rich, natural fertilizer by starting a backyard compost pile. It’s the best use of kitchen scraps and yard waste there is!
You Will Need
- An outdoor place to pile scraps
- Brown waste, such as dead leaves, twigs, and sawdust
- Green waste, such as grass, garden clippings, and vegetarian kitchen scrap
- And a shovel or pitchfork
- Homemade or store-bought composter
Step 1: Select location
Select a location for your compost. It should be outside in the fresh air, in the shade, and easily accessible to add and remove material from it.
Step 2: Shred or chop large pieces
Shred or chop large pieces of compost material to help them decompose faster.
Step 3: Get container
You can just pile the compost material in a heap, but having a container will be tidier. Buy a commercial one, or build one that will be well ventilated, like a cylinder of chicken wire or a crib made of wooden slats.
Never put animal-related items in your compost, like meat, bones, dairy products, or animal waste. If it’s something whose smell could attract a scavenger, like a rat or raccoon, it will.
In San Francisco, citywide composting operations pick up scraps from residents, businesses, and restaurants and turn them into mountains of compost for landscaping, farms, and vineyards.
Step 4: Check material
Check to see if the material has been sufficiently broken down after around three to six months. A happy compost pile will produce black, crumbly, earthy-smelling material.
Step 5: Keep pile moist
Keep the pile moist. Decomposition will slow if the materials are too dry. Sprinkle the pile lightly with water during times of little rain.
Look for signs of healthy decomposition, including worms and tiny white shreds of fungus.
Many towns give out composters or sell them at a discount as a way to reduce waste in local landfills.
Step 6: Spread finished compost
Spread your finished compost on flower or vegetable beds and watch your plants flourish.
Stick your hand into your compost pile and check its temperature. A warm pile is decomposing well. A cool pile needs more green material.
Step 7: Maintain ratio
As you add new material, maintain an even ratio of brown to green materials. Too many brown materials will slow the composting process down, and too many green materials will end up producing a nasty stench.
Step 8: Mix up compost pile
Mix up your compost pile about every week to keep it well aerated. You can use a shovel for this, or your commercial composter may be designed to flip over.
Step 9: Alternate layers of waste
Start your compost by alternating layers of brown and green waste. Carbon-rich brown materials include dead leaves, straw, sawdust, and chipped wood or branches. Nitrogen-rich green wastes include lawn clippings, vegetable peels, eggshells, and coffee grounds.
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