2 COMPOSTING MYTH'S

Myth #1-  compost smells so this won’t work for me.

Lies! Composting will only smell like dirt if done properly.

There are 2 Components to every compost pile

Browns: Dry Leaves, newspaper, straw, wood chips, sawdust, cornstalk, pine needles

Greens: Food scrapes, grass clippings, coffee grinds, egg shells (rinse insides thoroughly!), manure

*NEVER add meat, bones, or dairy to your compost pile.

A good mix of browns and greens in your compost pile is about 4:1 brown (carbon) to green (nitrogen) and this will ensure a nice dirt smell.

Within those two components are the 3 essential ingredients for providing nutrients back into your garden:

3 key ingredients within those 2 components:

·Phosphorus -Banana Peels

·Nitrogen -"Greens" or food scrapes

·Potassium -Banana Peels, Seaweed, Potash Salts, Tobacco Stems, and Wood Ash

Another alternative to provide your garden with these nutrients without having a compost pile would be to buy them at your local nursery in already made packages.

Myth #2- I have to have a huge pile and they are big or the containers are bulky so this won’t work for me.

Straight to the garden: You don’t have to have a “pile”- you can throw scraps straight into your garden! just keep in mind that it takes a bit longer for the items to break down.  With this method, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, fruit peels, egg shells and so on are put right in the garden and covered with soil. During the growing season it will get buried and earthworms and microorganisms quickly break down the scrapes.

if doing this it's best to cut up scrapes for a faster break down

Starting small: your compost “pile” can literally be a bucket. Start with food scrapes that you’ve collected over the past few days and dig them into various spots throughout your garden. Also consider throwing some dried leaves or grass clippings straight into your garden whenever possible. If going this route DON’T compost WEEDS, their seeds won’t breakdown so basically you’re giving yourself more weeds to pull! 





Going for it: You can buy a composting container at your local nursery or make your own to fit your composting size needs. There are many different types for you to choose from- click here to view different types of compost bins.







Troubleshooting:

If you find your compost pile is starting to smell, you may need to add more browns

If you find your compost pile is not heating up, than you may need to add more greens