A Simple Way to Make the Best Compost

To get the best compost, make your own. It's a lot easier than you might believe and you don't need anything special at all to create excellent compost. The hardest part is choosing where to put it. Find an out of the way spot but not too out of the way or you won't want to carry your composting materials out there!

Set aside a three or four foot strip of land and dig up the grass or weeds or whatever is growing on it. You must be able to reach across it, or to access the center easily from either side.

In this bare ground, make a shallow depression all over to help it retain moisture, then drag your shovel to make trenches crisscrossing the entire area at 8 to 10 inch intervals. These will be where you put your composting material. Leave the soil piled around the trenches to cover the material as you go.

That's it. You don't have to fence or turn or tumble it, and although turning will make it decompose faster, you won't have to worry about that at first.

You will need to keep the composting area damp at the least under the first inch or so of the surface. Dry soil won't attract the beneficial insects, worms and microscopic organisms that digest the material into soil. A compost area that's too wet won't work either as the creatures need oxygen. However, don't worry if you get a good rain. A good compost system will allow water to drain away and rain is a natural fertilizer that adds nitrogen to the soil.

Once you have everything prepared, start saving your vegetable peelings, tired lettuce leaves, leftover water from cooking vegetables, coffee grounds and tea leaves (herbal teas, too) and so on. This is a good incentive to not salt vegetables while cooking them so you can use the water. Small bits and pieces of cooked vegetables can be left in the water to be poured onto the compost area and everything else should be cut or torn into small pieces to compost faster.

Use a bowl or pail to collect these things over a day's time, then take it out to the compost area. Pour it into a section of one of the trenches and cover it over with the dirt piled alongside it.

As you add things each day, you can keep an eye on the condition of the soil. Water it when it seems dry and if it becomes waterlogged, a shallow ditch around the edge will help drain water off.

Fill in one corner or side before starting on the other. When the last part of an area is filled in, cover it with three or four inches of leaves and/or dry grass, then take your shovel and turn the area over gently. Don't dig more than is necessary. You don't want to cut worms in two or disturb the other creatures more than is necessary, but you want to allow oxygen into the soil to help break down the material.

Continue to fill in the other side and in a few short weeks the first area will be ready to use. Dig out the top six inches or so and mix it into the soil in your flower pot garden or spread it on your acre of land.

You can start over again in the same area, but bring in fresh soil to replace what you removed. It's a good idea to recycle soil by taking it from the garden where you want to add compost. Set it aside then take the compost to the garden to mix in and replace the soil you took out. Scatter the garden soil onto your composting area and start over, dragging trenches in it as at first.

The very best compost is that which you've made yourself, from the soil on your own land and from the food you eat. The nutrients will naturally match what you need if you grow what you like to eat.