When it comes to composting at home, the best thing that the frugal gardener or the beginning gardener can remember is that "compost happens". Everything else, and I do mean everything else, is a matter of personal preference. Do you make home compost fast or slow? Do you bin or free-pile your home compost? Do you tumble or stir your home compost or leave it alone? Do you cover the pile or leave it open? Do you build on the ground or off the ground? I can't say that any of these are necessary questions to consider or not because they all work and they all have their merits and drawbacks. You will find folks who swear by each of them and they are all right and they are all wrong when it comes to basics of what is essential in compost building.

But consider for a moment the fact that in nature organic matter piles up, organic matter decomposes, organic matter becomes compost. A simple process of nature. Everything else is what you personally want out of your home compost and your compost building and making experience. This is a basic fact that the frugal gardener should never allow themselves to forget and the beginning gardener should learn and learn early.

Here at the Garden of Weedin, the Hillbilly Gardener has tried most of them, likes all of them for different reasons and uses many of them. But, let the Hillbilly Gardener impress upon you that no matter how the frugal gardener chooses to do it, composting at home should absolutely be a cornerstone of all outdoor and indoor growing activities. Compost, whether home compost you make yourself or commercially prepared compost is at the very heart of gardening success. It is virtually impossible to garden in the soil without incorporating organic matter in some form into your daily routine and expect long-term positive results. The worst thing any gardener can do from the standpoint of long-term success is to NOT make organic matter the chief cornerstone of their gardening efforts. Soil is the very foundation of growing plants for the average gardener, whether a frugal gardener or not so frugal.

Most gardeners have a tendency to buy into the notion that composting at home and being successful at it is some complicated process that employs some mystical and mysterious processes and complex set or rules that must be obeyed or dreadful things will happen. While it is true that there is a possibility of some unpleasant side effects if certain things occur or do not occur, these are all simply different aspects of the decomposition process and all are easily corrected or controlled.

What the frugal gardener or beginning gardener so often lacks is a basic understanding of the decomposition process and an awareness of what to expect at each stage of the decomposition process. What the Hillbilly Gardener seeks to do here is to present you with some compost making tips that will take much of the work out of the compost building and home compost making process. Remember this truth if you do not take anything else from this website – composting at home does not need to be laborious, time consuming or expensive unless you choose to make it that way. Remember – "compost happens"! Organic matter piles up. Organic matter decomposes. Organic matter becomes compost! Everything else is what you wish to make it to be.

With all that said, and volumes could be easily be written on the subject of compost, take a look at these compost making tips and tips on compost building and using. Then enjoy your composting at home efforts and your home compost a little more because you took some of the work out of the process. Compost is a valuable asset for the Hillbilly Gardener here in the Garden of Weedin and he wouldn't consider gardening without it. But the Hillbilly Gardener refuses to let the science of composting rule his efforts. Nor will he allow composting at home become a labor that takes the fun out of gardening. To each of our visitors and gardening friends the Hillbilly Gardener wishes you the greatest success in your growing endeavors and a bountiful harvest. Feel free to contact us with your gardening experiences, questions or just to say "HI". We would love to hear from you.

the "Hillbilly Gardener"

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Handy Helpers For The Compost Bin

Two trash cans (one inverted and set atop the other) near the compost pile can hold a spare digging fork and/or "D" handle shovel for quickly working in the compost. Look for these spare tools at flea markets and yard sales to save money.

Extended Reading (These articles coming soon)

While this page is about short and easy to follow "composting tips and tricks", it may be that you want more extensive information on composting. Check out our library of composting articles:

• Calculating Moisture Content

• Carbon/Nitrogen Table

• Compost - A Gardeners "Black Gold"

• Compost Chemistry

• Compost Microorganisms

• Compost Physics

• Compost - The Environmental Activist

• Monitoring Compost pH

• Use of Fertilizer Nitrogen to balance C/N Ratios

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Smelly Compost

Foul smelling compost is a common complaint with many gardeners, especially those new to composting at home. The smell is created by Anaerobic bacteria that take over the decomposition process when the pile is too wet and oxygen is driven out of the pile. A properly aerated pile should have no noticeable or objectionable smell and what smell it does have should be "earthy" and very much like that of fresh soil. Correct this condition by turning and stirring the pile and withholding any water for a while. This will allow oxygen back into the compost pile and the anaerobic bacteria to die off. Aerobic bacteria will then take their place and the smell will go away. Cover the pile if rain is forecast to keep rain out. but uncover the pile as soon as the rain has ended to let air into the pile. A properly aerated and moistened compost pile should have the feel of a wrung out sponge.

Natural Compost Starter

A natural compost starter can easily be made at home by mixing one (1) can of beer (See note below) and two (2) cups of buttermilk in two (2) gallons of water. Mix this together on a watering can and apply two (2) gallons of this mixture to each foot or foot and a half of compostable material added to the compost pile. The addition of one (1) to two (2) inches of finished compost to the pile before applying this mixture will hasten the decomposition starting even more. Cover the pile to keep it from drying out and check it in a few days. If it is not moist a few inches into the pile, add a small amount of water to the pile and cover it back up. You should feel the pile heating up rather quickly when the correct moisture level has been reached.

The beer and buttermilk contain bacteria and enzymes that are valuable in starting the decomposition process. As decomposition begins, the bacteria and enzymes multiply and set up an environment for others to move in. The addition of compost and/or garden soil introduces these additional bacteria and enzymes early in the process.

Note: The cheaper and nastier the beer the better. Non-pasteurized beer works the best because it contains bacteria and enzymes that are killed off by pasteurization.

Really Inexpensive (Cheap) Compost Bin

Do you prefer to contain your home compost in a bin instead of a loose pile? Do you have an out of the way place to put a home compost bin that is out of sight of normal traffic and the neighbors view? Are you a frugal gardener who hates to spend any more than you need to for composting at home? Here's a compost building tip that will contain your home compost without costing you an arm and a leg or maybe nothing at all.

Obtain four (4) wooden shipping pallets. Stand these on edge and wire them together at the corners. Then start filling! These will create a bin that is roughly four (4) feet square and will hold enough material for the average gardener. To unload or work the pile, simply unwire one side and start digging. These shipping pallets will last for several years and if they are raised off of the ground with bricks, etc. they will last even longer. Many stores have pallets that they will be happy to give you free for the asking. When they do rot beyond ability to be used further, the Hillbilly Gardener recycles them into the fire pit to provide enjoyment to his outdoor living.

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Keep It Neat

Do you prefer composting at home in a bin? Do you dislike the mess you always have in front of the bin when you work in the pile? Purchase a small, inexpensive plastic tarp to spread out in front of the bin before you start working. Clean up is as simple as folding up the tarp and dumping the contents back into the bin.

Forgotten Compost Materials

Every frugal gardener knows to put their kitchen vegetable scraps, yard and garden waste into the compost bin, right? Did you know that dryer lint, wood shop sweepings (non-treated wood), the contents from your vacuum sweeper and old newspapers are highly compostable? If you use old newsprint in the compost bin, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Always tear the sheets up into smaller pieces so they do not form a barrier to air and water by sticking together.

2. Never use any shiny pages in your compost. They do not decompose well. The shiny on the page is created by coating the pages with a plastic coating that is designed to make the pages easier to separate.

3. The ink used on most modern newsprint is "soy" based and is not hazardous to the environment.

4. The black ink used in most modern newsprint is zinc-based, which is a valuable trace element in your garden.

NO, NO Compost Materials Can Be YES, YES Compost Materials

Every frugal gardener has heard, learned and been taught that certain materials such as meat and dairy products should never be put into a compost pile. The reasons for this are that these materials can create foul odors and draw a lot of unwanted critters to your home compost. Another reason why these materials have generally been considered "off-limits" is that the fats found in meats tend to decompose very slowly unless very high temperatures can be achieved and maintained.

Well, these materials need not be avoided (including bones, which are a good source of calcium) if they are buried very deeply into the compost pile and the pile kept continuously moist - NOT WET! In fact, Swedish gardeners developed an "injector" many years ago to force these materials deep into the bottom of the home compost pile. However, the Hillbilly Gardener has not seen one of these injectors in years. It is usually just as easy to dig a very deep hole into the top of the pile and bury them. A modified post-hole digger can be helpful to accomplish this task.

Be advised though that you need to allow approximately three (3) months from the time you put your last NO, NO material into the pile until you start digging into your home compost to avoid an unpleasant surprise. Any non-composted material you find in your pile when you do start digging is simply buried into the next pile.

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the "Hillbilly Gardener"