7 Tips for Easy Composting

You know all the food scraps, grass clippings and other organic materials you throw out each week? Stop. By saving those materials as compost, you'll never need to buy fertilizers or bags of potting soil again, and you'll have healthier plants than ever before. Even better, you'll be doing your part to reduce the volume of waste tossed into the landfills.

"Landfills have limited space, so why fill them up with valuable materials that you can use at home instead?" says Lars Hundley, a certified master composter in Dallas who runs CompostGuide.com. "On a macro level, composting reduces the costs involved with hauling around organic waste in trucks and throwing it into landfills instead of using it on-site and turning it into rich, fertile material that you can use in your yard. On an individual level, you can save money buying fertilizers and bagged compost by simply making your own with the materials you already have."

Gardeners often refer to compost as "black gold" because it's so good at enriching and improving the soil. But even if you aren't a gardener, compost can boost your lawn, trees and shrubs. "The healthier and richer the soil, the better all plants will do," Hundley says.

Before getting started, here are seven things you should know about composting:

1. No equipment is necessary. "You can literally compost with no equipment at all, Hundley says. "If you throw all your organic materials in a pile, they will eventually break down into compost over a period of months. Expert gardeners actually prefer using large piles to make compost. They are usually about 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet. You can use a pitchfork to turn the pile if you want to speed up the process."

2. Optional equipment is available. If you'd rather keep your yard looking tidy, start with a basic compost bin or tumbler, Hundley says. They're available in plastic, wood and wire. "All the models work; it's mostly a matter of choosing one that is the right size and style for your personal tastes."

3. Indoor composting works, too. If you live in a condo or apartment with little or no outside space, vermicomposting (or worm composting) is a good indoor alternative, says Annette Pelliccio, founder of organic gardening company The Happy Gardener. "These smaller-scale bins can be stored in a pantry or crawlspace and house worms that will transform office trash and kitchen scraps into nutrient compost to be used in houseplants and container gardens," she says.

4. Layering works. "The most effective composting alternates layers of green matter and brown matter," Pelliccio says. "Green matter includes grass clippings, vegetable scraps, fruit rinds, egg shells, coffee grounds and tea bags. Brown matter includes prunings such as branches and sticks, cardboard, bread and pasta, and leaves."

5. "Lazy" composting is okay. Layering works but it isn't necessary. Hundley says he uses the "lazy method" -- he keeps a compost pail in the kitchen, adding all the vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and other organic materials into the pail. When it fills up, he dumps it into an outdoor compost bin. "When I'm ready to use compost in the spring when I start my garden, there will be plenty of it ready for me."

6. Leave animal matter out of the bin. Never add meat, grease, bones, pet waste or dairy into your compost bin. "All those things can attract pests, and also stink," Hundley says.

7. Use it when it's ready. "It can take a couple of months to a year to get finished compost, depending on what you add to your bin and how much time or effort you want to put into it," Hundley says. "Compost is considered finished or ready when it looks and smells like rich earth, and you can't really identify any individual ingredients anymore. If you still see banana peels in it, then it's not ready."

Generally, composting is easy. "Just remember that everything breaks down over time, and don't get too worried about the details," Hundley says.

Do you compost? Please add your advice and experience in the comments section.