Fall an Ideal Time to Begin a Compost Heap

Home gardening offers many benefits- exercise, beautiful flowers and delicious & nutritious organic vegetables and fruits.  Some studies have shown that children consume more fruits and vegetables when they work at home or school vegetable gardens.   Many cities now allow apartment dwellers to rent space for gardening and composting.  

Along with proper amounts of space, sunlight, and water, rich soil is key to organic gardening success.  Fall is an ideal time to begin a compost heap which will nurture your productive garden for next year.  Select an outside area of at least 4 feet by 4 feet to start the pile.  Some gardeners partially enclose the compost heap with plastic or wooden sides or purchase plastic compost bins- but an enclosed pile is not absolutely necessary.

Fallen leaves, grass clippings and kitchen wastes such as egg shells, banana peels and other fruit peels make excellent compost.  If available, manure from cattle, horses and poultry can also be added to the pile in small amounts (use gloves when handling manure).   Brush, tree branches and wood can also be added to the pile, but these materials are poor in nitrogen.  If large amounts of wood or brush are used in the pile, a nitrogen source such as manure or 10-10-10 fertilizer should be added to the compost to speed decomposition. Mix the compost ingredients with soil to provide bacteria, molds and worms to digest the compost materials. Try to make the pile at least 1 foot high so the pile can heat up, which will speed breakdown of compost.

Avoid adding meat, bones or pesticide containing grass and leaves to the compost pile.    Water the pile occasionally if it becomes very dry.  To speed decomposition, the compost pile can be turned occasionally- although this intervention is not absolutely necessary.

The compost should be largely broken down and ready for use next spring.  Compost can be added to vegetable and flower beds or placed around trees and shrubs.  The compost will improve the soil texture and supply next years’ plants with an abundance of slowly released organic nutrients.   Gardeners who compost this fall will be well repaid with an abundant harvest next year.

Composting is also a great way to dispose of large quantities of fallen leaves in October and November.  Composting avoids the fire danger and air pollution problems of burning leaves and avoids the problems of adding leaves to the regular trash and filling up landfill space.