Backyard Composting
What is Composting?
A backyard compost pile is made by mixing: green, high-nitrogen material, such as grass clippings; with brown, high-carbon material, such as dry leaves; with soil, and water. Chopping or shredding the materials with a lawn mower or shredder before adding them to the pile, speeds up the process. Mix periodically to add air. This recipe sets up an ideal environment for nature's decomposers to work. You will know your compost pile is working when it gets warm in the middle and the material begins to break down and look like soil.
What Can I Put in My Backyard Compost Pile?
Layer one part green materials with two parts brown materials.
Green materials (with high nitrogen content) include:
* Blood Meal or Bone Meal
* Non-Woody Garden Prunings
* Grass and Weeds
* Fruit & Vegetable Scraps
* Farm Animal Manure (chicken, cow, horse, sheep)
* Spent Flowers, Bouquets
Brown materials (with high carbon content) include:
* Brown Grass
* Dead Brown Plants
* Dry Leaves
* Finely-Chopped Wood Chips
* Pine Needles
* Straw
DO NOT ADD:
* Meat
* Dairy Products
* Diseased Plant Materials
* Dog or Cat Wastes 1. Sprinkle half-inch of soil or mature compost every few layers to provide the micro-organisms necessary for the decomposition process. 2. Add water to keep the pile damp as a wrung-out sponge. 3. Mix or turn periodically with a garden fork. Micro-organisms need oxygen and small particle size. The more often you turn the pile, the quicker it breaks down.
One part green and two parts brown, makes the compost turn to ground.
Add some water and some soil. Turning is the only toil!
For more information contact the County Recycling/Environmental Coordinator at (810) 667-0452. |
