Composting Creates Garden Magic

Would you like to turn your kitchen scraps and garden waste into gardener's gold? Try composting! Composting is an easy and environmentally friendly way to reduce, reuse, recycle, and feed your garden organically.

Compost is a mixture of decomposing plant and food waste. The outcome of these decomposing wastes is an organic mixture rich in plant nutrients and beneficial organisms. Because our Butler County soil is clay-based, using compost can vastly improve your soil's texture, drainage, and quality, making the soil easier to work with and healthier for plants to grow.

There are many ways to create compost. The easiest method is to simply create a couple of piles in an out-of-the-way corner of your property. However, this simplistic method is not practical for residents who have neighbors close by. Also, the compost piles should be readily accessible from your house to support regular use. Creating an unobtrusive composting system is necessary to keep friendly relations with neighbors and promote your composting activities.

There are two basic composting systems: open and closed. Closed systems are usually pre-made bins or tumblers composed of wood or plastic. While effective in creating compost, their utility is limited. Most bins or tumblers are too small to adequately accommodate the garden and household compostables produced by the average family. Because these systems are closed, you must add water occasionally to keep the composting materials moist. Decomposing materials should be mixed or turned regularly to introduce oxygen. Because of the need for adding compostable materials and turning and watering them, the compost may never be completely 'done' and ready for use in your garden. If using the closed system, you would need two or more bins or tumblers so that while you are adding to one bin, the other is finishing.

An open system can meet the needs of an average family with a medium or large garden and yard. This method requires little effort to maintain. Composed of two or three bins or corrals that are open at the top and with access to the front, they can be made from a variety of materials and be as fancy or as plain as you wish. Open bins can be made of wood, wire, or concrete blocks or a combination of any of these. As each bin is filled, it is turned into the next bin. By the third bin, the compost is ready to be used in the garden. Explore three-bin composting systems on the Internet, and you will be rewarded with a variety of styles to meet your needs. Done correctly, this system will not look or smell like decomposing garbage.

There are numerous materials that are acceptable for composting. These materials include vegetables, fruits, eggshells, coffee grounds, grains, tea bags, plant material, grass clippings (chemical free), fall leaves, and debris from your gardens. Animal manure from herbivores, such as horses, cows, or guinea pigs, can be added in limited quantities. You can also add shredded paper and biodegradable plates, napkins, and cups.

Likewise, there are materials that should never be added into a compost system. Meat, fat, bones, dairy products, and whole eggs attract vermin and create strong odors. Never add the feces from dogs or cats, as disease may be present in the feces. Grease and oils will slow down the composting process and turn rancid. Diseased plants should not be included because the compost may not reach a temperature high enough to kill the pests or disease.

There are a few simple steps you can take to make composting a viable option for you and your family. Keep the "browns" (carbon) and "greens" (nitrogen) at an approximate two to three parts brown to one part green. An easy way to remember is to toss a few handfuls of leaves or shredded paper on top of your garden and kitchen scraps each time they are added. Keep several bags of autumn leaves by your compost system for just this purpose. Turn, turn, turn! The more the composting materials are mixed, the faster they will decompose. Maintain the compost moisture like the dampness of a wrung-out sponge. Add water during particularly dry spells. You can add materials to your system all year long. Not much decomposition will happen over winter, but as soon as the weather warms, the process will pick up. Add a handful of finished compost to your working bin to give it a head start. Keep a closed container in your kitchen near the food prep area to make saving food scraps convenient. There are commercially made compost crocks with charcoal filters that will blend with any decor. Line the crock or pail with plastic vegetable bags from the grocery store or purchase biodegradable compost pail liners.

The composting process usually requires three to four months. Compost is ready when the composted materials are no longer hot in the center of the pile and appear dark brown, crumble when squeezed and smell like fresh dirt. Use finished compost to top dress vegetable and perennial garden areas. There is no need to work the compost into the soil; the top dressing of compost will retain water, condition the soil, and feed the plants. When installing new plants, place a handful or two of compost around the new plant to give it a head start. You can put a handful of compost into the planting hole as well but be sure to mix it well with existing garden soil so that the plant will extend its roots beyond the "good stuff." Use your compost with potting soil for container-grown vegetable and annual plants, too.

Penn State Extension Master Gardeners Butler County maintain a compost system and demonstration gardens at the Passavant House (Zelienople Historical Society) at 243 S. Main Street, Zelienople. Herb and vegetable demonstration gardens are located behind the House. Visit the rose garden, small orchard, fountain, pollinator garden, and gazebo. Between the gardens and adjacent to the garden shed is a three-bin composting system. The gardens at Passavant House are open to the public year around.

Composting promotes healthy soil and a healthy environment. Penn State Extension has additional information on home composting. An example of a three-bin compost system is found within the Penn State Extension article on composting leaves. If you have questions about home composting, call the Butler County Master Gardener Garden Hotline at 724-287-4761, ext. 7 or email the Master Gardeners at butlermg@psu.edu.

Written by Butler County Master Gardener Nancy Bergman
Published in the October 8, 2022 edition of the Butler Eagle