Composting for a New Generation: Latest Techniques for the Bin and Beyond

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Whether you garden on a small city lot or on a large country property, Composting for a New Generation covers everything you need to know to make great compost quickly.
Composting is not just about reducing food and yard waste; it’s also about improving the health of your soiland the productivity of your garden. Compost is full of nutrients and beneficial microbes that help plants thrive, but store-bought compost is expensive and often comes packaged in non-recyclable plastic bags. Instead of running to the store to purchase compost, learn how to make your own rich, earthy compost and watch your garden thrive. 
 
Composting for a New Generation explains the complex science behind effective and efficient composting in layman’s terms and includes detailed information on tried-and-true composting methods right along with new, innovative techniques. From traditional bin composting (including step-by-step instructions for building your own bin) and vermicomposting, to keyhole gardens and trench composting, you’ll close the cover with all the knowledge needed to be an expert composter today. Plus, you’ll learn how to use all that “home cooked” compost successfully. 
Composting for a New Generation is the most complete book to date on organic composting. 

From the Publisher

Composting for a New Generation: Latest Techniques for the Bin and Beyond

The Expected and Unexpected Benefits of Composting

Imagine taking materials that many people view as garbage and transforming them into something useful. When you compost, you create something that will amend your soil and improve your garden. You create something that has the ability to bind heavy metals so your plants won’t absorb them. You create something that reduces your need for fertilizers and pesticides. Best of all, creating this special something requires no electricity, and you can make all the tools you need yourself.

The Science of Composting

If maintained correctly, your backyard compost bin contains an entire food web with billions of organisms working together to decompose your food scraps into rich, beautiful compost. You do not need to have an extensive knowledge of the science behind composting to compost well, but this is a fascinating world. Come, geek out with me, and let’s throw a little party to learn how composting works.

Composting Basics

At its most basic, what you can compost in your backyard boils down to this question: did it come from a plant? If the answer is yes, then most likely you can compost it in your backyard. As with all things, there are exceptions to this rule. Some materials take longer to decompose than others, and some materials, such as food scraps, require special treatment. You will find that different methods of composting handle special materials with varying levels of success.

Maintaining Your Compost Bin

In the broad spectrum of people who compost, you will find a range of drastically varied behaviors. On one end are the fanatic active composters who turn their bin every other day and seek out more compost fodder for an ever-increasing harvest. On the other end of the spectrum live the lazy, just-let-it-rot composters who are content to allow Mother Nature to do her thing. Of course, most of us fall somewhere in between the two extremes, and how much time you put into the maintenance of your compost will vary accordingly.

In-Vessel Composting Techniques

Composting is much like cooking soup. You can make soup thousands of different ways using many different recipes and end up with unique yet delicious results each time. In the same way, no two compost piles are identical, yet each will yield a beneficial amendment for your soil. Backyard composters have harnessed human ingenuity to produce numerous creative variations. Let’s break down the different styles so that you can decide what is right for you and your home.

Integrated Composting

Many urban and suburban composters choose to compost in a contained bin since it offers the benefits of holding all your organics in a nice controlled package. However, if you have a little more space or some creativity, you can choose to integrate your composting efforts into your garden or landscaping. Once you escape the confines of your bin, you are free to compost as much material as you want. Let’s check out a few tried-and-true techniques.

Vermicomposting

Imagine if you could keep hundreds, even thousands, of pets in your home that would happily live in a container small enough to fit under your sink. Now imagine that these pets were useful for more than just cuddling. They eat your table scraps without a fuss, and their poop, rather than being a gross byproduct, is actually one of the best soil amendments in the world.

Harvesting and Using Your Finished Compost

After a few months (or a few weeks for you hot composters), you will inevitably want to harvest your brown gold. We could become philosophical and say that composting, like life, is more about the journey and not the destination and that your months of work tending to your compost pile, adding food scraps and leaves, checking moisture levels, and aerating when needed were the true joys of a backyard composter. But that would be absurd.

Let’s Do It: Pit Composting

Dig a pit at least 1 foot deep

Fill the bottom of the pit with 4 to 6 inches of food scraps and leaves

Fill the rest of the pit with soil. If you want, mark the location with a popsicle stick. Wait six months to a year before planting over the top.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cool Springs Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 19, 2017
Edition ‏ : ‎ Illustrated
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1591866928
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1591866923
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.13 x 0.75 x 10.13 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #964,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #240 in Urban Gardening (Books) #779 in Organic & Sustainable Gardening & Horticulture #3,585 in Agricultural Science (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (203) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers find this composting book to be an excellent resource, with one noting how it explains the science behind composting in simple language. The book is comprehensive, providing lots of practical information, and features great pictures throughout.