45°
Choosing composting is a great way to be gentle to the environment and your wallet. The main reasons to consider composting include:
- Reduce waste sent to a landfill
- Reduce greenhouse gases by reducing fuel used for transport
- Save money
- Help reduce leaf removal costs
- Good for your garden - nothing beats a nutritious compost mixture generated on site
To get started, you will need a compost bin to contain your compost. This structure can be made of wood, wire, or any material. In actuality you may not even need a bin; an area to pile raw materials for the composting can do the trick. It is important to avoid piling composting materials on concrete, plastic or anything else that doesn’t allow the materials to touch the dirt. The dirt is important because as the materials breakdown, worms will migrate into the compost and further assist with the process.
Grass clippings and leaves are critical to a composting process because they provide the nitrogen and carbon necessary to accelerate the breakdown of your composting materials.
Mother Nature needs 5 to 6 months in order to properly breakdown the raw materials to effectively turn them into usable compost. During this time, turn or mix the compost every couple of weeks.
Come spring time, the once ugly pile of sticks, leaves and grass clippings will be transformed into nutrient rich soil ready for planting.
For a quick composting guide, click here.
