The joys of composting

Ok, composting is not really that joyful, but it can become an intregral part of your garden. It provides vital nutrients to your soil, plus it cuts down on your household waste.

I have several composting piles scattered throughout my garden, but I have a pretty big space, so you might only need one or two piles. I also have a spinning composting bin, but there's really no need to go out and get one. I find the piles are the most efficient, because composting requires three things: air, water and time.

So what can you compost? Well, basically anything that comes from the earth, can go back to the earth - it really is the circle of life! This includes your paper products, like your junk mail, paper towels, and napkins. But beware-I learned the hard way not to just throw all my junk mail into the compost. I'm still picking those pesky plastic envelope windows out of my garden. And I'm always amazed on how long those things stick around, because guess what? Plastic does not break down! It's an eye-opening lesson on plastic and how we really need to do our part to reduce our use of plastic. But I digress...

Food products like coffee grinds and egg shells are wonderful composting ingredients. You can also add a layer of grass clippings or leaves to your compost pile periodically. And of course, any of your garden clippings or old plants. That's how I wound up with so many compost piles now - As I was cleaning up at the end of last season, I put those old plants into my compost.

But what should NOT be composted? Meats and oils are a big no-no. That's what will attract the animals to your compost.

So what's the best method? I have found that small layers work best. I would start with a layer of paper products (minus any plastic!) and then place food products on top, adding any grass clippings or leaves. Then cover it lightly with a bit of soil from your garden. I like to keep a plastic container with a lid on the kitchen counter for any kitchen waste so that I can add it to the compost piles whenever it gets full and I tend to cover it with a little soil each time. AS it begins to break down, you can start to pull the rich compost material from the bottom.

Remember, just like when you're growing, the most important thing you need is time and patience when composting.