Home Composting
If you have a backyard garden, there is a good chance that you have started a home compost bin. If you haven’t you should. It is a great way to recycle and reuse all your yard waste such as leaves, grass clippings, and plants you have cut back or pulled out. By composting all these things you will have rich, organic material to fortify your garden in the coming year.
But what can you compost? Many people know that they can compost the things listed above. Any organic yard waste is perfect to add to your composting project. However, you may want to steer clear from adding weeds to your pile. Although a compost pile generates heat and that heat may kill the weed seeds, you don’t want to take a chance that the weed seeds survive and you spread them back into your garden.
If you are composting your yard waste, you are already on your way to a productive and effective composting effort. But you can do more. That’s right, there is so much more that can go into a compost pile that people tend to overlook. So what else can you add?
There is quite a bit of household waste that can skip the landfill and go right into the compost heap. Remember to add all the peelings and cutting from all the fruits and vegetables you use in the kitchen. Egg shells and cardboard egg cartons are great additions too. Just make sure you tear up the egg carton a bit before you add it. You can also add coffee ground and even the coffee filter if it is completely made of paper.
It is a good idea to get a container that you can keep in your house to collect all the green waste for your pile. If you collected it in a special container you will only need to add it to the pile occasionally. This will make it easier to keep the green waste separated from the regular garbage.
Your compost pile will reward you with rich, healthy organic material for the garden with just a little help from you. Turn it regularly, keep it slightly moist, and add all the green waste you can. Your garden will grow a little better with your home composting efforts.
Learn more about composting:
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Organic Gardener's Composting |
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Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting (Third Edition) (Storey's Down-To-Earth Guides) |
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Composting For Dummies |