Composting 101

December garden maintenance compost

Composting 101

The most important equation to the perfect compost is Green + Brown = Black Gold. We like to put the compost in a shady spot and keep that pile moist. Set up a schedule so you are turning it every two weeks. We suggest using a compost bin that is smaller at the top and bigger at the bottom. You might even want to add a water line to the compost pile to help reduce the bugs and allow it to stay moist like a sponge.

Let’s take a deeper look into the equation we gave.

Browns are dry organic based type stuff such as:

  • cardboard (take the tape off)
  • pumpkins/melons (grind down as small as you can)
  • eggshells
  • coffee grounds
  • corn on the cob
  • banana peels
  • paper shreds
  • rabbit droppings
  • leaves
  • sawdust

Green examples are:

  • manure
  • grass
  • scraps

The smaller sizes you can make your items that you are adding to the compost the faster it will break down into compost you can use.

The ideal 6 month recipe:

  • 1 part nitrogen (green)
  • 30 parts carbon (brown)
  • Keep it wet like a sponge
  • “Starter Soil” should be 140-150F degrees
  • Turn once every two weeks

The parts referred to in the recipe are depending on how big your pile is. So for example, 1 shovel full of green material and 30 shovels of brown material.

To learn more about composting you can dive deeper through the Agriscaping Mastery Program (AMP).