Composting for Beginners - Do's and Don'ts, Bins and Tumblers:

Lots of novice gardeners believe t their plants and vegetables only need ply of wa and sunlight in order to sustain a healthy and fruitful lifespan. Howe this is not irely true as plants also need healthy soil rich in nutris to be able to survive and grow properly. The solution to this dilemma is composting.

Now, most of us aren't too sure of what the heck composting is or what it even ails - I know I didn't! An easy way to explain it is composting is a way us to give back to the earth by using organic maials such as food scraps, vegetable scraps, grass clippings, leaves and manure from grass eas like cows, sheep and rabbits. In general, composting is a wonderfully organic process t benefits your garden and the environm tremendously. In today's article we'll go ah and talk ab the benefits of composting, what you should and shouldn't compost, and some composting systems you should consider investing in.

We all know t when anytg dies it starts to decompose - humans, animals, plants, it's all a y natural process. But did you know t in turn, the soil becomes y rich in nutris and new life starts to grow? That's the true benefit of composting and t's what you want your garden. In addition to improving your soil, it saves you my, makes rific mulch your garden, and places less burden on landfills.

Bee you start undertaking a large composting project, te are a few key tgs you should keep in mind, like what you can and can't use composting. Let's start with what you shouldn't compost; this includes weeds full of seeds and/or diseases, pesticide infested plants, wood ashes, lime, barbeque charcoal, meat, grease, bs, dairy products, cat, dog and/or human waste, plastic, metal, glass, branches, wood chunks, anytg contaminated, and large loads of soggy mat. Obviously anytg in the aemid list would have an adse effect on your compost, or won't decompose properly, especially the bs, but we'll go more into t la on in a future article.

With t said, it's highly recommended t you use grass clippings, leaves, non-diseased and seed spring weeds, d plants, food scraps like fruit and veggie wastes, cow, sheep or llama manure, straw/hay, coffee grounds, and even hair and lint when composting. These items break down quick and easily, giving you the end result t you're looking .

The next tg t you need to keep in mind is we you're going to be doing all of this composting work. While some don't mind working on their compost heap in the open, like in the woods or in an open area preferably away from prying eyes (I ne said it was a pretty looking process), I suggest looking into a bin or tumbler system. Te are a couple of compost bin systems t you should consider: the bin and multi-bin systems. For the my conscious the bin system is the preferred method since it is easy and most municipalities even work with manufacturers to make this method available to the public. In addition, it's easy to move ab, most can hold heat well and is sturdy enough to keep rods and ot wildlife . The multi-bin system is households t produce a lot of waste; it generally does the same tg as the bin method but it allows you to stockpile your maials in bin and in the ot when more maials become ry. Both methods take anywe from three to eight months in ms of ry to use compost.

Anot method you can consider is working with a compost tumbler, which isn't cheap, but it is small if you're working with limited space. Tk of the benefits though: tumblers rotate which keep your compost aerated and generate heat, which in turn means t you'll have a batch of ry to use compost in ab three weeks. The wire collector is anot option to weigh. Great garnering up quick, ry to use composting, it's cheap and you can even make yourself of rabbit wire or field fencing. Howe, I don't really recommend it too often because it's easy wildlife to break in to and it doesn't hold in heat y well. But the great tg ab it is af your compost is d and ry, all you have to do is just remove the wire coing.

Do keep in mind the laws of your city. You wouldn't tk it, but check with your local gonm agency to see what your city will let you compost, like food scraps and what not. Af all being cited not composting wit the legalities of your city isn't y green. And when choosing the ideal composting system, tk ab your needs, how much waste you can you'd regularly add to it, how animal-resistant it is, and whet you can easily remove your ry to use compost. I know it's a lot to tk ab bee you begin, but trust me, it's well worth the eft. In our next installm I'll go ah and talk ab the science and art of composting - stay tuned!

*Referenced from Home Composting Made Easy by C. Forrest McDowell, PhD and Tricia Clark-McDowell, 2002.