Wanna start a compost pile? Then do it!
Get StartedTake all your garden refuse - prunings, trimmings, dead leaves, etc. - and throw it on the ground. Mow your grass and mix the clippings into the pile.
It's that easy. No kidding.
Care"Feed" your compost pile regularly. The more you "feed" it, the faster it will grow (provided the ingredients are balanced, which we'll get to in a minute). I feed my piles about once a week with kitchen scraps and dried grass clippings.
Turn your compost at least once a week. This means stirring it and fluffing it up, even turning the entire contents of the bin over (use a pitchfork or shovel; I use my
Garden Claw). This works air into the compost pile (oxygen being necessary for the decomposition process); and keeps the materials in the pile evenly distributed so that they don't mat together, which inhibits breakdown, release of excess heat building, and air flow.
Your pile should never be
wet, but it shouldn't be entirely dry, either. You may need to sprinkle a little water onto your pile in extremely hot and dry weather; or cover it in extremely rainy weather to keep it from rotting after being waterlogged.
FeedingCompost happens with or without your intervention, but when the materials in your pile are balanced, breakdown occurs at a much faster rate. An equal mix of "green" materials (rich in nitrogen: fresh plant bits, kitchen scraps, tea bags, etc.) and "brown" materials (rich in carbon: like dead grass, dry leaves, coffee filters, mulch) work together to break down quickly. Microscopic breakdown in a balanced, aerated compost pile will raise the temperature inside the pile to anywhere from 100-140º (this is known as "hot" composting - "cold" composting happens at lower temperatures, when a pile is not well aerated, or not balanced, or the weather outside is too cold and wet for breakdown to really get going).
That sounds complicated, but it's really not. Most people "feed" their compost bin as they can - a bucket of kitchen scraps and some lawn clippings once a week or so is plenty to keep a pile cooking - you don't need to measure your additions or stress about it at all. Like anything else with gardening, you'll get a feel for composting as you go along.
HousingA pile on the ground works just fine, if you don't have the resources to build or buy a bin to keep your compost in. The disadvantages of a pile are that wind, rain, and pets do tend to scatter the pile from time to time, but it's easy enough to rake back into place. My two compost piles are on the ground, but kind of fenced in with stacked landscape timbers.
An actual compost bin can be as elaborate as you want to deal with. Many different types of pre-made bins are available for purchase. My mother composted in a trash can with drainage holes drilled into the bottom and air holes drilled into the sides and lid. You can stack bricks or concrete blocks to enclose your pile, create a high-walled raised bed for a low "bin", build a wooden frame, or even just tie some wire fencing panels together to make a box.
ProblemsIf your compost pile isn't "cooking" (getting hot enough, working fast enough), it may be that it's not getting enough air, or that it's not getting a balanced amount of "green" and "brown" ingredients. The composting process will often slow down in very cold weather.
It helps that your compost pile will "tell" you when you've screwed up, just like a plant will tell you it needs water by falling over or dropping leaves. A pile too high in nitrogen from kitchen scraps will stop composting and begin to just plain rot; a pile with too much carbon will stop working altogether and just sit there. A wet pile will stink, a dry pile will take forever to break down. Just like a plant, your compost pile will let you know what it needs, if you're paying attention.
Ants and other pests (other than the ones that help the compost process, like beetles, "pill bugs", and earthworms) in the compost bin mean that the pile isn't getting hot enough to create an inhospitable environment. Ants will also vacate a place where the ground is constantly disturbed; if you have ants in your pile/bin, turn the compost more often, and make sure you're feeding it well - with enough heat and movement, they'll move right back out again.
Why Compost? Why wouldn't you? Compost is the ultimate soil-builder and fertilizer. It lightens soil, making it loose, fluffy, easy to work with. As a fertilizer (either worked into the soil or applied as a top-dressing at the surface of the soil), it adds a healthy balance of nutrients and microorganisms to your garden soil, nourishing plants. Composting offers a fantastic way to reduce the amount of trash that you put out on the curb and into the garbage disposal every week. There's also definitely something to be said for the feeling of accomplishment that comes with harvesting your own compost.
Look mom, I
made dirt!.
