Photo available on Flickr.com courtesy of This is Green.

If you are curious about composting, there are a wide variety of books available to help you with your composting needs. Many of these books can serve as a comprehensive guide to compost, or can add to your collection of gardening books at home. Certain books such as Let it Rot! The Gardener’s Guide to Composting are quick and easy reads to really help you with your compost information. This book in particular is an in-depth 160-page analysis of composting, complete with detailed illustrations for those of you who are visual learners.

Here is a great collection of composting books:

Compost turners are great for homemade bins! Typically, when you make a homemade bin, the opening will be large and there will be a lot of room for excess compost and organic material. This means the compost has to be turned with a certain frequency – as there is no tumbling motion such as seen in rotating or tumbling composters.

So, when you purchase a compost turner, you are able to properly aerate and mix your compost in a matter of minutes. Using a tool is simple – just plunge it into the compost and then move it and mix the compost around. It’s that simple. You are then able to blend the different elements in your compost bin together, make sure they get the proper amount of exposure and aeration, and then let nature do the rest of the work. A compost turning tool works twice as well as a shovel or pitchfork, and really lets you get down deep into the soil.

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Does your yard have terrible soil? If even mesquite trees and tumbleweeds struggle to survive, it’s still possible to save the ground and restore life to the most barren patch of dust. Instead of bringing in bags and bags of topsoil from somewhere else (where they were probably needed!), have you considered composting?

A compost pile or compost bin does 2 good things at once. Composting helps reduce the amount of garbage that you send to a landfill, and it produces nutrient rich soil that can be used to improve the health, water retention, and elasticity of your yard.

Compost is made from organic material and contains many of the elements that plants need in just the right balance. It also contains millions of good bacteria – the very bacteria that spread out into the surrounding earth and restart the cycle of life. Compost holds water very well, which can come in handy if your yard floods easily or has a runoff problem that depletes the soil. Compost is also light and fluffy, which means that it can be used to fill cracks in the ground and it will loosen up compacted soil.

Photo courtesy of CleanAirGardening at Flickr.com.

Photo courtesy of hale_popoki at Flickr.com.

Worms are nature’s own garbage disposal. They work quickly and turn shreds of garbage into smaller and smaller pieces. Soil passes through a worm about 5 times before reaching a well-balanced and stable form. Vermicomposting quickly turns fruit and vegetable scraps into nutrient-rich compost.

Worms make excellent pets, but they need a comfortable home to live in. Just like dogs need a doghouse to protect them from the rain, worms need a snug home that has just the right conditions. Worms need to be protected from sunlight, excess moisture, and predators. Worm bins offer all of this and more. The lid keeps rain and birds away, and a well constructed worm bin allows liquid to drain from the main compartment into a holding cell. This plant friendly liquid is called compost tea, and many worm bins have a spigot you can use to drain the compost tea for watering houseplants.

After you choose a worm bin with the right size and features, the first step is to put a layer of shredded paper, cardboard pieces, or coir in the main compartment. This “brown compost” is rich in carbon, and the worms will eat it slowly to supplement “green compost” food scraps (which are rich in nitrogen). It will also keep baby worms from falling through the gaps. Once this lining is in place, you should put in several shovelfuls of healthy soil. The amount of soil will depend on the size of the worm compost bin, but the ideal amount will produce a pile 3-6 inches deep. When you add scraps to the compost bin, it’s important to bury the worm food underneath this soil but above the lining.

There are foods that worms like and foods that are no good for them. The best foods are kitchen scraps, such as fruit scraps and vegetable peels. Tea bags, coffee grounds, and filters also work well. It’s best not to use meats, oils or dairy products, because those scraps can attract flies and other pests. Foods that have been cooked with oil or butter should also be avoided.

After the ingredients are ready, it’s time to get some worms! There are many different varieties of worm, but red wrigglers are the most popular. They’re also widely available at bait shops and pet stores (check the live food section). Red Wigglers are also called brown nosed worms, and their scientific name is Eisenia foetida. Unlike other worms, they like to stay close to the surface and will be happy in a shallow vermicompost bin.

After that, there’s not much to do. Add worm food regularly, and remember to drain the compost tea before the holding cell gets full. There is usually plenty of water in kitchen scraps to supply the worm’s needs, but if you live in a very dry or warm area, it may be necessary to occasionally add a little bit of water. When the worm composter gets full, or when the worms eat all of the lining material, then it’s time to empty out the vermicomposter and start again.

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Photo courtesy of London Permaculture at Flickr.com.

Everybody poops. But few people use their poop to help around the garden. Most of our waste is carried away by sewage pipes and ends up far, far away. The thing is, waste contains tons of nutrients that plants love. It doesn’t make much sense to flush away fertilizer, and then spend money buying bags from the garden supply store. Toilets usually use more water than any other appliance in the home, and transporting sewage consumes a lot of energy. Most of that electricity comes from polluting sources like coal and natural gas. So, flushing the toilet wastes water resources and adds to our carbon footprint.

There is a better solution. Composting toilets are available that convert waste into fertilizer. Toilet Composters are safe, sanitary, and easy to operate. Composting toilets are also known as biological toilets, waterless toilets, and dry toilets. These toilets come in many different designs, but they all do basically the same thing: they use naturally occurring bacteria to turn excrement into soil. Human waste is very high in nitrogen, so a green toilet usually requires additional carbon to ensure proper composting. Toilet paper provides some carbon, but sawdust and leaves may also needed for balanced compost (and they can help control odors too).

Composting toilets work very much like other composters. They don’t fill up as quickly as you might think, because bacteria actively break down the contents into heat, gas, and compact soil. Given time, the contents of composter toilets will shrink to a fraction of their size. In general, human waste will reduce to 2-10% of its volume when converted into compost. This means that composting toilets are well suited for gradual use over an extended period (such as in a hunting cabin, RV, or single person home), but they may not be the best plumbing option for a family reunion or large BBQ.

Photo courtesy of sheagunther at Flickr.com.