The gardening season will be here before you know it in New England. Having the soil amendments you need for your organic garden can still be done in time by composing your organic household and kitchen scraps by the method of cold composting.
Cold composting is a method that requires little maintenance in the comparison to other methods. Some of the other composting methods require specific carbon and nitrogen levels and can be more complex to do. Cold composting can essentially just be left in a pile to do its thing. A big benefit of cold composting is that it can be done in as little or as much space as you have available.
Whether you choose create a compost pile in your yard, or if you going to use a bin, it is important to have a place that is specifically designated for your composting operation. Having an area that is designated for composting will avoid the confusion of where your household scraps and other organic waste from the home should go.
When cold composting, you can utilize most food scraps that are vegetable nature, avoid using any food scraps that come from a meat or dairy source. The reason you should not utilize meat or dairy products is because they can attract predators and pests that can be a big nuisance around the house and neighborhood. This will not be a good thing in the overall scheme of composting unless you and your neighbors enjoy the occasional visit of raccoons, possums or even bears in your backyards. It can turn into a pest control nightmare very easily, so use care.
Along with avoiding scraps from meat and dairy products, you should also avoid animal feces, they can be high in potential pathogens. Your compost pile can include most any biodegradable kitchen scraps like coffee grounds with filters, egg shells, and tea leaves, or household waste like shredded newspaper, organic yard waste that includes grass clippings and garden waste from flowers, fruits and vegetables.
The one thing to keep in mind when building a compost pile, is keeping it three parts carbon to one part nitrogen, in other terms, three parts brown material and one part green material. Brown or carbon items include sticks, twigs, and dried leaves. Green or nitrogen producing items are kitchen scraps and grass clippings. Keeping these ratios in balance will help your compost pile produce a nutrient rich organic humus that will greatly benefit your organic gardens soil structure.
If this is your first time composting, there are a few important facts that you should research. These facts include what not include in your compost pile, and to check the local regulations regarding composting.
