Haddow Press Experiment

Composting - Part 2 - What?

Archived in Landscape, Outdoors, Compost |

AS I NOTED in Part 1, a compost lets you get all sorts of functionality out of your organic matter. Sure, it seems like it’s abundant now. But in the vast, sterile confines of an infinite universe, organic matter is more precious than gold. Okay, so maybe not. But why throw away millions of years of evolution when your plants will love it. Yum.

What can I compost?

Yard clippings, dead weeds, and mulch. You are looking to form “layers” in your compost pile. The rule of thumb is GREEN and BROWN with scattered household organics. Green yard wastes are fresh lawn clippings, trimmed plants or weeds, etc. Brown yard wastes are fallen leaves, dried weeds, or small twigs.

Household organics. You know you have this. You make a salad and there are some stems and brown bits left over, you eat an apple and there sits the core, or you peel some fruit and the rind is left behind. The rule of thumb is that as long as it came from the soil it can go back. IF it grew from the ground somewhere, chances are you can compost it. This, of course, included coffee grounds and tea bags, but in moderation.

What can’t I compost?

Animal wastes of any kind. This includes not only feces and litter, but waste matter from food that had an animal origin. No, we’re not being vegetarian here, but don’t you dare chuck your trimmings or bones into a compost unless you want rodents and skunks rummaging through it. (By the way, cleaned egg shells are okay to compost.)

Large organics. Chunks of sod, wood, or thick branches will break down eventually (emphasis on EVENTUALLY) but we’d like to use this compost in, you know, our lifetime.

REMEMBER…

Your compost needs water to survive. The composting is happening because micro-organisms are breaking down the organic matter as food, and turning it into rich, useful soil. Your pile should be roughly as wet as a squeezed sponge: damp, but not sopping, dry but not parched.

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