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COMPOSTING ...

NO BIN METHODS: DO NOT COMPOST


Saves you money by lowering garbage bills and HEAP composting is a simple method but only if you Meat, Bones, Dairy Products, Greasy Foods,
replacing commercial products with your compost. have a huge yard. Diseased Plants and NEVER add cat or dog manure
Helps garden and house plants by improving the PITS are 18 to 36 inches deep and 3 ft square. Be (for fish waste, see posthole method)
fertility and health of the soil. sure to cover. Consider two pits: fill one with new
Saves water by helping the soil hold moisture and waste and harvest from the one you filled last year. AIR
reducing water runoff. TRENCH & POSTHOLES. Bury at least 18 inches Aerobic Composting means fast, hot composting.
Benefits the environment by recycling valuable and let mother nature do the work. Postholes are a HOT composting will kill weed seeds and
organic material and extending the life of our landfill. great way to add fish scraps to your yard. pathogens. Turn once a week to keep aerobic
SHEET COMPOSTING. Layer grass, leaves and activity high.
There are many methods of composting just as there leave for the winter WARM composting will not kill weed seeds, takes
are many ways to cook. Your compost bins will be longer but will yield more compost for your garden.
filled with the leftovers from what you eat and what COMPOSTING BASICS
you grow in your yard. A balance of CARBON, NITROGEN, AIR and AIR TIPS: Turn your pile
WATER is needed to make compost. If possible with a compost turning tool
BINS collect enough materials to fill your compost bin. or garden fork.
WIRE HOOP BINS (10 ft x 3 ft. chicken wire) are easy Alternate Air Sources
and fairly inexpensive to build and keep your yard CARBON or BROWN material let air into your existing pile.
waste compost pile tidy. Brown, dry yard and garden materials provide the Holey pipes, bundles of
carbon balance for your pile. Chop or shred large bamboo/corn stalks, and
WOOD & WIRE BINS are low-cost containers for yard pieces. The smaller the pieces, the faster the woody branches add air
waste and easy to build. The bins can be made compost. pockets in your pile. Use old
rodent proof by adding a lid so you can add food Examples: grass clippings, leaves, shrub prunings, broom sticks or a jet of water
waste. Recycled fences or old pallets work well twigs, hay, flowers, sawdust, vacuum dirt, pine to poke holes into your pile.
needles * and weeds that have not gone to seed**.
THREE BINS or TURNING UNITS allow waste to be Woody branches should be chipped. Bacteria, fungus and insects that live in your
turned on a regular schedule. They are good for compost need oxygen to work. Sufficient oxygen
gardeners with a large volume of yard waste. This NITROGEN or GREEN keeps your pile sweet smelling.
method produces a high-quality compost in a short material
time if you work at it. Green materials provide WATER
the nitrogen to the pile. Keep your pile as damp as a wrung out sponge.
MANUFACTURED BINS Always bury food scraps Compost piles need about 50% moisture. Dampen
Go to www.composters.com for current models. deep inside the pile to layers when building the pile then add water through
Most bins are made from recycled plastic, are smaller avoid potential odors or perforated pipes or a jet of water. Keep a cover on
that 1 cubic yard, and have been designed for pest problems. open piles during hot, dry weather or rainy weather.
backyard use. Examples: peels, rinds, vegetable and fruit waste,
coffee grounds w/filter, tea bags, egg shells, hair,
OPEN AIR BINS feature air vents along the sides. fresh grass clippings, chicken/horse/rabbit/cow
manures. Books
ROTATING DRUMS or compost tumbles are units *10% Rule. If you are unsure about a material such as The Mulch Book by Stu
which rotate and create compost quickly. Bins must pine needles or eucalyptus, only add 10% to your mix. Campbell
be turned regularly. Some people opt for two drums. ** If there is a weed that you do not want in your yard, Let it Rot by Stu
DO NOT add it to your compost pile. Campbell
Easy Composting, Ortho
EARTHWORM BOXES – Desired mix is 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen: Books.
Our Earth Worms are Easy CARBON SOURCES NITROGEN SOURCES Worms Eat My Garbage
flyer has Sawdust 500:1 Fresh grass clippings 30:1 by Mary Appelhof
detailed instructions Dry leaves 60:1 Kitchen scraps 20:1
SETTING UP YOUR COMPOST PILE A LITTLE COMPOSTING SCIENCE

1. Choose a bin
2. Choose a location, preferably near a water source.
HOT Composting requires more effort with quick
results. A HOT pile that has the right blend of carbon,
BACKYARD
COMPOSTING
nitrogen, air and water and is turned regularly will
You can compost in sun or shade,
heat up to 120ºF TO 150ºF. The high temperature
on dirt or concrete
will kill most weed seeds and speed up the
3. Gather equal weights of carbon/brown and
decomposition process so that the compost may be
nitrogen/green materials.
ready in 3 months or less.
4. Layer around a holey pipe:
• Carbon/ brown materials
WARM composting can be done more casually
• Nitrogen/Green materials WARM piles work if you add yard waste, bury your
• Sprinkle with water food wastes, water sporadically and wait. The pile
• Add a bucket of finished compost or soil to won’t get hot enough to kill weed seeds. WARM,
activate casual composting can take up to 12 months.
• Repeat layers topping with carbon/brown
materials Is it done yet?
• Cover optional depending on your bin Compost may be finished if it looks dark and crumbly
5. Check it in about a week. Dig around and you’ll and smells earthy instead of moldy or rotten. More
find that your pile will have warm spots. details are in our Using Compost flyer.
6. Add more waste as it becomes available.
BUGS and other PROBLEMS
Bugs, ants, earthworms, slugs,
A compost pile may not and other insects will appear
appear to be active as the after the initial hotter stages. COMPOSTING
outer layers are acting as They are good for the pile, is nature’s way of recycling.
insulation; most activity is especially the soldier fly whose
happening inside. grayish larvae will appear when
Gardeners can turn fruit, vegetable
the conditions are right. and yard waste into
Maggots, on the other hand, dark, crumbly, sweet-smelling
usually mean that you forgot to
bury the food waste. You can make ants disappear
soil amendment.
by disturbing their nests with water or by turning the
HOW LONG DOES IT pile.
TAKE
Yard Waste Only with 50-50 balance of Carbon and Rodents can generally be controlled by turning the
Nitrogen, monitor air and water with no additional pile and disturbing their nest. Use non-toxic Rodetrol
turning : 12 months or more for bait if necessary. If problem persists, do not add
Sponsored by
food scraps or use an animal-proof compost bin. See
Yard Waste Only: as above but turned once a week www.ourwaterourworld.org for less-toxic gardening. The City of Vallejo
and/or adding alternative air sources: 3 to 8 months &
Keep your Compost Happy
Yard Waste and Food Wastes: with 50-50 balance of Rotten or ammonia odors are the most common
Carbon and Nitrogen, monitor air and water. Turned complaint from composters. Your pile does not have
once a week and/or adding alternative air sources: 3 enough oxygen and may be too wet. Turn the pile
to 8 months. and add dry materials. www.VALCORErecycling.org

The more you fuss with and turn the pile the Most backyard compost piles don’t heat up because information:
faster your compost will happen. bins are too small. You can get more heat by adding www.recycle-guide.com
a little water while turning the pile. Cover the pile with COMPOSTING HOTLINE
© Bogner 2006 – Recycled paper, of course
a tarp or old carpet. You can also add more
Wiggle E Worm © 1993 Ecology Action
nitrogen/green materials.
707 55-EARTH

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