What You Need To Know To Start Your First Compost Pile

How is it that people turn garden waste and kitchen scraps into “black gold” that they can use in and on the soil around their trees, flowers, shrubs, vegetables and plants? The rotting process that happens when organic materials are piled on top of one another, layered and kept moist produces the best thing in the world for things that grow: compost. Compost that is placed on the soil’s surface actually feeds the soil and helps it to drain better. It also attracts worms and causes all kinds of microbial activity, which is so healthy for plants. Here are simple steps to get started:

1. Find a spot for your pile, away from vegetation and in a somewhat sunny spot.
2. Construct a wire cage that is a least 3′ X 3′.
3. Create a base of broken twigs. This allows air flow and drainage at the bottom of the pile.
4. Add a layer of leaves. Try to mix green and brown together. Green is nitrogen-rich and brown is carbon-rich. Add kitchen scraps too (never animal products as they will attract rodents).
5. You can speed up the decomposition process by adding one cup of blood meal, or finished compost which already has all of the necessary micro-organisms and bacteria.
6. Lightly spray the pile with water to keep it moist and turn it.

For more information about composting see Eartheasy.

For more green real-estate-related tips see Going Green on our web site.

For your entire Apple Valley CA Real Estate needs visit our web site

Going Green is a weekly publication brought to you by the Crown Team.  Check with us each week for continuing articles on how to save money in and around your home and in the process reduce your footprint on the environment.  If you have thoughts, comments or ideas with a broad application be sure and let us know so we can reproduce them with credit to you.