The best method for getting rid of yard waste is also the easiest. Composting is nature’s way of turning your yard waste into a valuable soil conditioner. Composting helps your garden and lawn, saves water, benefits the environment, and saves you money on bags and commercial soil additives.
What to compost...
DO Compost:
- grass clippings
- leaves
- weeds & garden debris
- small brush
- twigs
- wood ash
- sawdust & wood chips
- egg shells
- coffee grounds.
DON’T Compost:
- meat
- bones
- fat
- dairy products
- oils
- whole branches
- logs
- pet or human waste
- charcoal briquette ash
- sawdust
- ash from treated wood.
How to compost...
All you need to compost are some basic gardening tools, materials for a bin, and a bit of soil to start the process. Bins should be square in shape, usually measuring 2’ x 2’ x 2’ or 4’ x 4’ x 4’. The bin needs to have air running through it, so snow fencing, bricks, and woven wire are excellent bin walls. Recipe: Mix one part green yard waste with two parts brown yard waste in a pile. Mix in one inch of soil. Keep pile as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Turn pile every week to let air in. In between four weeks and a year, depending on how often you turn it and how moist the pile is kept, you will have a batch of compost.
Uses for compost...
Finished compost is a crumbly, sweet smelling dirt-like substance. It can be mixed into the soil to help the seeding process and to help fight erosion. It can also be used as mulch instead of commercial soil additives.