Why Compost?
Making compost is a great way to use food scraps and garden waste. Compost can be added to soil or on top of your garden beds. Either way, compost helps a garden grow!
Rummage through to find out what’s in the bin!
Anything that was once living can become compost. Food, grass, and plant parts can all be composted.
- Yard Waste
- Fallen Leaves
- Grass Clippings
- Hay
- Weeds
- Remains of garden plants
- Vegetable scraps
- Fruit scraps
- Other food scraps (no meat or fatty foods)
How Does Compost Happen?
Food and plant parts don’t break down by themselves. Critters we can see and bacteria we can’t see, all help break down food and plant parts at different points of the breakdown process. Let’s take a look. . .
- Bacteria
- Fungi
- Centipedes
- Millipedes
- Earthworms
- Beetles
Into the Mix
It’s not just WHAT you put in the compost bin. . . it takes the right combination of “green stuff” like grass clippings, food, and plant parts, and “brown stuff” like hay and dead leaves, to make compost.
Air and Water
Compost needs to be wet like a damp sponge. Compost also needs to have space so it can “breathe”. The bacteria that are working to break down the compost need air. With enough space and just enough moisture, food and plant parts can break down to small particles.
Size
A compost pile should be not too big and not too small.
Temperature
A compost pile gets hot in the center. . . 110-160 degrees to be exact! This is a result of “stuff” breaking down into smaller bits.
What’s the End Result?
The finished product will kind of look like soil. Dark in color and no resemblance of what you originally put into the bin.
There’s more than one way to compost. . . check out the Worm Bin!
