The Art and Science of Composting

• Add brown and green: I like to think of composting as making a "soil lasagna" since layering is the secret to a successful recipe. Rotate layers of brown material, including dried leaves, twigs, straw, pine needles and wood chips, with thinner layers of green organic materials like grass clippings and leaves, fruit and vegetable trimmings and weeds. Never compost meat products, pet/human waste, diseased plant materials or those treated with herbicides or that have already gone to seed. Water each layer thoroughly as you go.
  
  
• Stir, cover and let cook: After a week or two, mix together the layers using a pitchfork or other tool. Then cover with a tarp to retain moisture and heat and to fast-track the decomposition process. Time and nature do the work. Your compost should be richly decayed and ready to use in two to three months. In general, the larger the pile the faster it will break down and keeping it moist by occasionally adding water will also expedite the process. Compost is ready to use when the source material is thoroughly decomposed — looking more like soil than its original ingredients. The source of the particles should be all but indistinguishable.
  
  

Once your compost heap is under way, think twice before you toss scraps into the trash can. Many throwaways may be compostable. For example, you can compost pet and human hair, dryer lint, rope and twine made from natural fibers, nail clippings, tea bags, shredded paper and cardboard, spoiled milk and dairy products, stale beer and wine and even the corks from the wine bottles. Now that's something to toast! 

Jeff Yeager is the author of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches and The Cheapskate Next Door. His website is UltimateCheapskate.com and you can friend him on Facebook at JeffYeagerUltimateCheapskate or follow him on Twitter.

Also of interest: Smart re-uses for day-old bread. »