Yes you can.
By making your own organic compost you can actually feed your whole garden without spending any money at all. I did it last year. Although I did fudge just a little. I had leftover seaweed extract in a gallon jug so I didn’t have to buy any. I usually make it last a couple years and last year I had enough to go around.
Why bother to make your own compost?
The most important reason to make your own compost is so you know exactly what materials went into it. This way you maintain control over the organic integrity of your garden.
Even though you can buy organic compost at your local garden center or home improvement center, you can’t be entirely sure all the ingredients that went into the compost were organic, or at least not contaminated with pesticide, herbicide, or other toxic residues. When I collect the leaves from my own trees, I know they’re organic.
When I collect the leaves from the pile in the street in front of my neighbor’s house, I know he at least didn’t spray the tree with any pesticides. So although his leaves may not be completely organic, by the time they’ve been through the composting process I feel good about putting the compost in my garden.
By making your own compost, you’re following the government mandate to reduce the waste stream going into the local land fill. In California where I live, the state passed a law mandating the waste stream be cut in half a few years ago. Most cities and counties in California now separate the green waste and wood-type materials from the main garbage, shred it, and compost it. Then they sell it back to the people that paid them to haul it off in the first place.
It’s not likely you’ll reduce your garbage bill by not sending your yard waste out in the green can, although at least you know you’ve done your part in helping to preserve our landfill space for future generations.
Better yet, making your own compost becomes an almost zen-like activity that feeds your soul as you also make the magical product that feeds your garden later. Personally, I find the activity of building the pile, creating finished compost, and then later feeding my garden with the finished compost very fulfilling.
My grandfather showed me how to compost before I even went to kindergarten and I’ve never forgotten the lessons even though he died while I was still quite young.
How do you make compost anyway?
There are four basic methods of making compost.
- The cold pile – the least work and the slowest way to make compost.
- The hot pile – more work, sometimes lots of work, the fastest way to make compost, and the most weed-free and disease-free end product.
- Compost tumblers – a little more work than the cold pile, typically the fastest way to make compost, kills weed seeds and diseases too.
- Worm bins – this is really a sub-method of composting your kitchen scraps into a very concentrated form of garden fertilizer consisting of worm castings and occasionally liquid off the bottom of the bin that is also highly concentrated nutrition for your plants.
So let’s get started.
Getting started making your own compost can be very simple, or you can make it into a complicated project. When I first got started, I composted in piles almost anywhere I could. You can start this way too and you’ll still make great compost.
You can make a compost bin out of a wide variety of materials. People use old wooden pallets, bales of hay, cinder block, scrap lumber, chicken wire, and just about anything else you can think of to confine the pile.
My wife makes me keep the pile out of view of the back patio. Fortunately our yard has a good spot hidden from view. I suggest you do the same in order to keep the peace within your household. Or at least agree on a spot before you start building.
Once you’ve picked out the site, either build the bin, the bin system, or move your tumbler into position.
I highly recommend you shred your materials before tossing them into the pile. There are several methods of shredding or chopping up the materials before adding them into the pile.
You can...
- use a chipper/shredder if you own one or can borrow one.
- run the pile over with your lawn mower
- cut things up by hand
- let the dogs chew them up – of course this takes time and then you have to pick it up all over the yard
- put it in a spare trash can and use your string trimmer to chop it up. This works best with leaves and small clippings.
Layer it in or toss it in
If you are going to build a traditional compost pile on the ground, you can start building the layers now. It doesn’t matter if you have a bin, or a wire enclosure, or nothing at all, just start building the layers.
Try using a layer of brown and then a layer of green material. Make sure to spray each layer with the garden hose to make it moist. You don’t want it soaking wet, but it needs to be moist.
If you own a tumbler, then just toss it in, spray a little water in behind it, close it up, and give it a few spins to mix it up. With a tumbler, you need to check it each day to make sure it’s moist enough and you need to give it a little spin to mix everything up again.
This is the easiest way to compost as long as you can afford the tumbler and you can give it daily attention.
If you build a hot pile, you’ll need to check and turn it regularly. Only experience will tell you how often you need to turn it and what you may need to add to make the pile work properly.
A cold pile is really one of the easiest ways to compost, although it can often turn hot depending on what types of materials you add and how much you add. In a cold climate, you may have no choice in the matter for the cold part of the year. It can be more difficult to build a hot pile when it’s well below freezing outside.
Congratulations, You’ve done it
You’ve now gotten started on one of the most rewarding activities and one that pays good dividends year after year. Organic compost helps protect your plants from disease, feeds them slowly and well without burning the roots, and best of all, it’s free.
Last year, I didn’t spend a dime on fertilizer for my garden. Next year, your fertilizer bill can be the same. Anyway you look at it, you’ll have to admit that spending next to nothing to fertilize your whole garden sounds pretty good.
Get started now so you can have a nice pile of compost to feed your garden with next year. Or even sooner if you choose.
If you’re interested in learning more about making your own compost check out my new ebook that contains pretty much everything you need to make your own compost.