Backyard Composting: The What, Why, and How

Composting converts yard waste, kitchen scraps, and other organic materials into a rich soil conditioner, right in your backyard. It's an eco-friendly method that reduces waste, improves soil health, and promotes your garden's growth. 

This sustainable practice holds the key to a lush, thriving garden, while contributing to a greener planet. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore what composting is, why it's a crucial practice for gardening and the environment, and, most importantly, how you can start a compost pile in your own backyard.

What is Backyard Composting?

Backyard composting is a natural process of decomposition and recycling of organic material into a rich soil known as compost which can be used in various gardening applications. It involves controlling the process of decomposing kitchen and garden waste into nutrient-rich soil. This activity is not only a sustainable waste disposal method but also results in a soil conditioner that enriches the nutrition of your plants.

Different Types of Compostable Materials

The compost pile needs a good blend of organic matter for successful decomposition. Ideally, there should be a balance between green, nitrogen-rich material and brown, carbon-rich material. Here are some examples:

Browns - Carbon-rich Materials

1. Common Ground Materials: Fallen leaves, branches and twigs, straw, sawdust from untreated wood, wood chips.
2. Household Waste: Paper or cardboard, shredded newspaper, cotton or wool rags.
3. Unique Materials: Pine cones and needles, dried grass, peat moss, corncobs and stalks.

Greens - Nitrogen-rich Materials

1. Kitchen Waste: Vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, eggshells, fruit and vegetable peels, old spices and herbs.
2. Garden Debris: Grass clippings, green leaves, flowers and plants, fresh weeds, houseplants.
3. Other Materials: Manure from herbivorous animals, seaweed and kelp, hair and fur.

Please Note: It's crucial to avoid composting materials like meat, dairy, diseased plants, and dog or cat feces. They can introduce unwanted elements, harmful pathogens, or attract pests into your compost pile.

Compost Methods

With various ways to compost organic material, each catering to different preferences, space requirements, and time constraints. By understanding these different composting methods, you can better choose the one that best suits your needs and your lifestyle.

Aerobic Composting

This is the most common type of composting and the one typically associated with backyard composting. Aerobic composting involves regularly turning the materials, providing ample oxygen, which speeds up decomposition. It requires a balance of green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (carbon-rich) materials, and moisture levels must be maintained.

Anaerobic Composting

This type of composting works without sufficient oxygen, causing a slower decomposition process. Instead of turning the compost regularly, materials are left to break down naturally over an extended period. Anaerobic composting takes longer and can result in strong odors, but it requires less maintenance and turning than aerobic composting.

Vermicomposting

Also known as worm composting, vermicomposting utilizes specific species of worms, usually red wigglers, to break down organic materials. As the worms ingest and excrete the organic matter, they produce a nutrient-rich byproduct called worm castings. Vermicomposting works well for people with limited space, as it can be done on a small scale and even indoors.

Hot Composting

Hot composting is a subtype of aerobic composting that occurs at higher temperatures, between 130°F and 160°F (54°C to 71°C). These hotter temperatures speed up the decomposition process and kill potential pathogens and weed seeds in the compost. However, to achieve the necessary heat, you must maintain the correct blend of green and brown materials, balance moisture levels, and consistently turn the compost.

Cold Composting

Also known as passive or slow composting, cold composting involves less maintenance than hot composting. It's best for gardeners who can't actively maintain their compost piles or who don't mind waiting a longer period for the finished compost. The decomposing process can take anywhere from six months to two years.

Sheet Composting

Sheet composting involves layering compost materials directly on the garden bed, instead of building a compost pile or using a bin. By adding layers of brown and green materials and allowing them to break down naturally on the surface, this method minimizes labor and time, while still providing nitrogen and carbon-rich materials directly to your plants.

Bokashi Composting

Bokashi is a unique composting method that utilizes anaerobic fermentation. It involves fermenting kitchen waste – including meat, dairy, and fish – in a closed bucket, mixed with a special inoculated bran. Bokashi composting can be done indoors without odors, making it an excellent option for those with limited outdoor space or who wish to compost a broader range of materials.

Why is Backyard Composting Important?

Embracing the practice of backyard composting can lead to a plethora of benefits that extend far beyond your backyard. The simple act of recycling organic waste into nutrient-rich soil has a transformative impact on our environment, gardens, and even our wallets. Let's dive into why backyard composting is not just important, but essential in our day-to-day lives:

Environmental Benefits

Backyard composting has a significant positive impact on the environment:

1. Greenhouse Gas Reduction: Organic materials in landfills decompose anaerobically, producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. By composting organic waste at home, we can significantly reduce the amount of methane produced.
2. Resource Conservation: Composting also conserves resources by recycling essential nutrients back into the soil, reducing the need for artificial fertilizers, which often require significant energy inputs to produce.
3. Decreases Waste Volume: It helps to decrease the amount of solid waste your home contributes to the waste stream, thus less space is required for landfills.
4. Water Retention: Compost improves soil structure, helping to protect against both drought and overwatering. The soil becomes better at retaining moisture, reducing runoff and soil erosion.

Advantages for the Garden

Compost is often referred to as "black gold" by gardeners due to its numerous benefits:

1. Soil Conditioner: Compost invites beneficial organisms such as earthworms and beneficial bacteria that facilitate aeration, improve soil texture, and enhance garden health.
2. Nutrient Delivery: Compost gives soil a range of nutrients that plants need for growth, including micronutrients and macronutrients.
3. Disease and Pest Deterrent: Healthy soil helps plants to build natural defenses against disease and pests, reducing the need for pesticide use or other harmful chemicals.

Cost Benefits

Backyard composting is not just great for your garden and the environment; it can also be beneficial for your wallet:

1. Reduces Waste Disposal Costs: Reducing the volume of your household waste could save on municipal fees tied to waste disposal.
2. Saves on Garden Costs: By creating compost, you are generating your own organic nutrient-rich soil conditioner. Thus, reducing the need for water, commercial fertilizers, and pesticides.
3. Reduced Water Bills: Since compost helps soil retain moisture, you'll spend less money watering your garden.
4. Replace Store-bought Compost: Making your compost can also save the costs associated with purchasing commercial compost.

How to do Backyard Composting

Composting is an excellent way to recycle organic waste and enrich the soil in your garden. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do backyard composting:

Location and Setup

1. Choose a suitable location: An ideal spot is dry and shaded, and near a water source. It's also essential to select a spot where the compost pile or bin won't interfere with daily activities and is accessible year-round.
2. Set up your compost pile or bin: Arrange your compost heap in a structured fashion, starting with a layer of twigs or straw at the bottom for good ventilation.

Collecting Compost

1. Start collecting your green waste: This includes items like fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, tea bags, fresh grass clippings, green leaves, etc.
2. Collect brown waste: This includes things like dried leaves, wood chips, paper, straw, or other carbon-rich items.
3. Things to avoid: Do NOT compost meat, dairy products, fats, or grease. Also, avoid composting diseased plants, pet wastes, or any substances that could attract pests.

Composting Process

1. Balance green and brown materials: Composting requires a mixture of green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (carbon-rich) materials. Try to keep the ratio around 2:1 (2 parts greens to 1 part browns) by volume.
2. Moisten your compost: Compost needs to be kept moist. Water your pile occasionally, or let rain do the job.
3. Turn the pile: Every few weeks, turn the compost pile with a pitchfork or shovel. This helps to add oxygen and speeds up the composting process.

Tips and Troubleshooting

1. Chop materials: To help speed up the composting process, chop or shred the compost materials before adding them to your pile. The smaller the size, the quicker they will decompose.
2. Maintain the green-brown balance: If your compost pile becomes too wet or smelly, add more browns. If it's too dry or slow in decomposing, add more greens.
3. Don't overwater: If the pile is too wet, it can become smelly. The compost pile should have the dampness of a wrung-out sponge.

Remember, composting is more of an art than a science and requires some trial and error to get it right. But with patience and time, you'll have a steady supply of rich, dark compost for your gardens and plants.

Conclusion

Backyard composting is a straightforward, rewarding process that allows you to make good use of your organic waste, converting it into a rich soil conditioner for your garden. Instead of discarding your kitchen scraps and yard waste, you are actively recycling them into a form that returns essential nutrients back to the earth, promoting healthier, more vibrant plant life. This process embodies the very essence of sustainability - making a full loop from your kitchen to your compost, and finally back to your plants.

Don't be deterred if your first attempts at composting don't yield quick results. It's a journey of learning that pays off with considerable benefits for your garden and the environmental health of your community. Start your backyard composting adventure today and embark on a path of sustainable living.