How to Make Your Own Compost

Guest post by our gardener, Barb Tewell:

Green plus brown is Black Gold and so easy to acquire.  Nature gives us a chance to make compost as all dead plants rot – it is so simple.  Use your imagination to make a compost area – it can be enclosed or just an inconspicuous mound in your yard.

1. Running the mower over yard waste shreds the material as one layer (nice to add 3 times as much brown or dry material as green or fresh kitchen waste if possible)
2. Kitchen vegetable waste, eggshells, coffee/tea grounds as another layer (no meat by-products, please)
3. Water to keep the pile moist but not soaked
4. Turn pile weekly to keep it cooking as internal temperatures can reach over  140 degrees.
5. Continue to add over the winter as all will decompose as spring approaches.

You will be amazed at how quickly this “recipe” becomes a valuable organic addition for your garden.