Would you like to actively contribute to the environment when taking care of your lawn? You should try composting. Homeowners are recognizing how valuable compost can be on their lawn when used in top dressing. Our Edina homes for sale and Glenwood homes for sale have enough backyard space to give you enough room to make compost. Here is a comprehensive guide on how to start composting.

Why You Should Compost

 Compositing is essential because it:

• Reduces waste and greenhouse gas emissions
• Helps recycle essential nutrients 
• Strengthens the soil texture and structure, promoting healthy plant growth
• Encourages a prolific soil ecosystem by attracting microorganisms and critters good for the soil
• Eliminates or reduces the need for synthetic fertilizer

What You Can Compost

The two main categories of materials you can compost are green and brown materials. 

• Brown Materials: These are carbon-rich items that give the compost a light, fluffy body. Their role is to provide energy to the microorganisms in the compost. They are majorly brown items like dry leaves, stems, corn stalks, branches, sawdust, wood ash, tree bark, pine needs, or shredded newspapers.
  
  
• Green Materials: These are nitrogen-based wastes that provide proteins and amino acids needed by the fungi and bacteria in the compost. They include green leaves, manure, grass clippings, coffee ground, food scraps, and kitchen waste like onion skins, potato peels, apple cores, and banana peels.

You should never compost:

• Meat, meat products, or bones
• Diseased plant material
• Weed seeds or roots since you might spread them to the garden bed
• Waste that has been treated with chemical fertilizers
• Non-plant material

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Start Composting

Here is how to start composting:

1. Identify Where to Place Your Pail
   You will need an accessible pail where you will dump your organic waste before adding it to the compost. You can have it under the kitchen sink or any other accessible place.
   
   
2. Talk About the Compost with Your Family 
   You need to gather as much material as you can. Telling everyone about the compost makes it easier to separate organic waste that will go to the compost and material that won't. Although it might take some adjusting, everyone will remember not to throw away those peels or apple cores with time.
   
   
3. Choose an Appropriate Method to Compost
   There are different ways you can compost in your backyard. Different options offer varying flexibility, degree of complexity, and cost. Here are four methods to choose from:

• • Piling: This is simple and common. You will be piling materials in a heap and turning them periodically to allow air in.
  • Vermicomposting: Also referred to as worm composting, relies on red wiggler worms to break down the compost material. It is ideal if you will only be using kitchen waste. 
  • Tumblers: They are enclosed compost bins. They are cylindrical and have hand-held insets to turn the compost easily.
  • Compost Bins: They involve composting using a bin. The bin can be open or closed. Open bins are partial structures that keep materials confined and have an opening for aeration and ventilation. It is designed to make one side accessible for dumping materials and turning the pile. Enclosed bins have a lid to help eliminate the smell and hide the pile.

4. Pick a Spot for Your Pile
   After choosing a composting method that works for you, pick a spot in your backyard where you will be piling the compost. It is best to put it around the house, where you don't need to carry the heavy pile. 

Composting is an accompaniment to gardening that is worthwhile for your garden and the environment. It is also a fun routine for the family and nurtures your children's interest in protecting the environment. Call today to view homes for sale and start composting in your backyard.