Consider Do-It-Yourself Composting

April 26, 2010.

Many people across the country today are making the decision to stop putting organic refuse in their curbside garbage. They are opting to take this material and create a compost pile in their backyard, near the house or wherever they can find a large enough room in order to let the organic elements in nature do its thing.

A compost pile does this take this natural material that is otherwise thrown away and turns it into an extremely beneficial manure which is made from throwing together kitchen table scraps, leaves, lawn clippings and other organic materials that when mixed with the right amount of air and water become a beneficial compound

What happens is that this organic material decomposes creating effective and healthy fertilizers that can be used on lawns or potted plants and throughout the yard. The typical compost pile is about 10 feet square or a little more and should be able to reach a height of 3 to 5 feet. The pile never has a cover over it but rather the top should be a little more flat or slightly depressed so that it can catch water when it rains. It should never be too wet or dry, however.

The way in which you pack your compost pile is going to make a great difference. The key to successfully creating good fertilizers to make sure that the pile breathes so can never be packed too tightly. Ideally, the first layer touching the ground should be grass clippings, leaves or straw and make this about a foot deep before wetting it down. You can always add scraps of food from the dinner table at anytime. Add about five pounds of ground rock phosphate or possibly a quart of bone material for every hundred square feet as well as a single pound of ground limestone. If you have good topsoil, add about an inch or so.

Never put weeds in your compost because the seeds from these days prettier garden later when you use it as fertilizer.