When most people think of compost they think of the dirty, stinky worm and bug infested pile of rubbish in the back corner of a yard, instead of the dark, healthy soil that you would find in any healthy environment. Visit any forest or jungle near your home and you’ll notice a natural compost process happening beneath your feet. You’ll also notice the fresh air your breathing because of the healthy plants benefiting from the natural processes at work. Compost doesn’t stink when handled properly and the microorganisms that call it home aren’t leaving the warmth of their home to bother anyone else.

If you have room in your yard there are several reasons to start composting. Everyone eats fruit and vegetables on a daily basis and in turn are producing food waste which is going to end up in overfilling landfills if not into your own compost system. If you have your own flower or vegetable garden you’ll want to return valuable organic material, nutrients and microorganisms back to your soil. Also, plants are going to get better root penetration becoming healthier and provide you with clean air in return.

I put all my raw veggie and fruit scraps in my compost including banana peels, apple cores, potato and carrot peelings. It’s amazing how much of these scraps a single person can discard. I also put all my grass clippings and weeds in the compost.

When composting weeds you’ll want to keep a couple easy rules in mind. If you pull weeds and a long string of roots comes up this weed is going flourish in your compost bin, throw these ones in the garbage. Any other weeds can be composted as long as you pick them before they are going to seed. Any weed seeds composted aren’t going to break down and will just lie dormant until eventually they’re moved back to your garden.

If you’re thinking of starting composting but don’t know how there are several options. If have some room you can build a simple compost pile, the bigger the better, but 3 feet high is plenty. You can get the same results from building a block bin which is basically a smaller pile contained within 3 walls. There are other convenient products you can buy from any hardware store that will insulate your compost and even help you turn your compost. You really can’t go wrong, once you get an area ready for compost just start adding stuff and you’ll find that things start to break down pretty quick. Make sure you don’t put any pet feces, or prepared food scraps and you’ll be okay.

Check out this link provided by the Ohio State University Extension for more specific details .

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