Posts Tagged ‘build a compost pile’
Composting is a great way to recycle organic matter such as weeds, leaves, lawn clippings, and non-meat kitchen scraps. When piled together in a properly managed compost pile, organic matter decomposes to the point where it is no longer recognizable and forms compost. Compost is the perfect soil amendment. It builds soil structure while nutrients leach from the compost, feeding plants and making them disease and insect resistant.
A compost pile is a living organism that needs a healthy diet to function properly. A healthy diet for a compost pile is three parts “brown” organic material and one part “green.” The “browns” consist of dead plant matter such as dried hay, straw, fallen leaves, manure from animals that only eat vegetation and small sticks and stems. The “greens” are fresh non-diseased plant material from the garden or kitchen. Meat and grease from the kitchen or domestic pet feces are never used in a compost pile.