Composting reduces the amount of your household garbage while producing a nutrient rich material for your houseplants or garden. Whether you have a yard full of leaves and grass clippings or a few pounds of vegetable and fruit peels each week, you can design a composting plan suitable for your needs. If you have a small yard or garden with little or no leaves or grass clippings, you might want to consider vermiculture. Earthworm bins are readily from several suppliers and are efficient at recycling vegetable and fruit materials. Whatever you choose, you can produce excellent compost if you follow a few simple rules.
Moisture is essential for optimal microbial action.
In the absence of adequate rainfall, enough water should be added to maintain the pile in a damp, but not wet, condition. The pile should be dish shaped on top to collect water, not mounded to allow run off. The second critical component of successful composting is adequate oxygen. Mixing the compost once or twice a month will introduce necessary oxygen, encourage decomposition, and discourage bad odors. The smaller the pieces of organic material, the sooner the compost will be ready to use.