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Composting

Having good compost is what every gardener  dreams of. Composting is the decomposition of plants and other things that were once living. Composting is actually a natural thing. In natural composting happens when leaves have fallen, and compost to make our soil rich in organic material.  Composting is performed by living organisms. Decomposing organisms consist of bacteria, fungi, and larger organisms such as worms. Compost should have a good carbon/nitrogen ratio. Carbon rich materials are  stems, branches, dried leaves, peels, bits of wood, bark dust or sawdust, shredded brown paper bags, coffee filters, conifer needles, egg shells, hay, peat moss, wood ash. Nitrogen rich materials are leafy materials, lawn clippings, manure, food scrapes.A good rule is 1/3 green material to 2/3 brown material. More carbon than nitrogen.

The EPA says compost can:

• Suppress plant diseases and pests.
• Reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers.
• Promote higher yields of agricultural crops.
• Facilitate reforestation, wetlands restoration, and habitat revitalization efforts by amending contaminated, compacted, and marginal soils.
• Cost-effectively remediate soils contaminated by hazardous waste.
• Remove solids, oil, grease, and heavy metals from storm water runoff.
• Capture and destroy 99.6 percent of industrial volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in contaminated air.
• Provide cost savings of at least 50 percent over conventional soil, water, and air pollution remediation technologies, where applicable

Things that can be composted are: