Compost 101
A compost heap is a ‘living thing’ that requires the following essentials to thrive:
- Correct balance of brown and green materials (approx 60/40 mix)
- Air (created by turning the heap)
- Moisture either from green material, rain, or added water
There are three compost bins on the 90th Street side of the Garden, by the sheds. There are signs to indicate which compost heaps are designated to accept new material. Please chop up material into small pieces as it makes the heap easier to manage and will produce compost twice as quickly – a hot heap is a good heap!
Browns (high in carbon)
- dead flowers
- woody yard trimmings no longer than 6” or thicker than ½”
- straw
- corn stalks and husks
- a few leaves (dumping huge piles of leaves on the heap is counter-productive)
- untreated wood chips & sawdust
- shredded paper
Greens (high in nitrogen)
- grass clippings (untreated)
- plant & yard trimmings
- vegetable and fruit peels, cores and scraps
- egg shells (crushed please)
- coffee grounds, filters & tea bags
DO NOT ADD:
- diseased plants
- weeds that are heavily laden with seeds
- grease, fats, oily or cooked food
- barbecue briquettes
- meats, fish & poultry (attracts rats)
Comment from Irene Friedland
Time Friday July 1, 2011 at 10:39 AM
I would like contribute some compost materials to your garden if that’s possible, and I am happy to help with whatever needs to be done either to process them or any other tasks other than heavy lifting. Is that possible? My contributions would be fruit and vegetable peels mostly.