- Discarded food, yard clippings and debris and wood waste are all excellent candidates for heap composting. Essentially, for any foods that you prepare in your home, a compost heap can be the beneficiary of the leftovers and discards. From coffee grounds to egg shells, celery stalks to banana peels, all can go into your compost heap instead of your trash can; the same with grass clippings from a mowed lawn, leaves from a raked lawn or wood debris. Don't include fats, oils or animal products such as meats or dairy.
- Heap composting does not specifically require a container for the compost, but for simple organizational reasons, you may prefer to purchase or build one anyway. Regardless of whether you use a container, the compost pile should be at least 3 feet high and 3 feet wide. This size or anything larger will be large enough to contain the heat that decomposing bacteria need to complete their work.
- If you've done any research on home composting, you may have heard the terms "finished" and "unfinished" compost; these terms simply refer to the degree to which organic materials have been broken down into a form that's usable as a soil amendment. Compost should be turned regularly, meaning you churn the compost on the bottom of the pile up to the top. Compost is "finished" when it it is black, warm and moist, with an earthy odor.
- Perhaps the most common use for compost is as a soil amendment, since the decayed organic matter can provide vital nutrients to plants, trees and shrubs. You can apply compost to plants either as a starter amendment when you first plant the plants or as a supplemental amendment to feed the plants. Chipped or sawed wood wastes can be used for mulching or for garden pathways.
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