Composting yard and food waste provides many benefits. It creates healthy soil and plants as organic matter is returned to the earth. Starting a compost pile is easy by selecting a sunny location and layering green nitrogen-rich materials like food scraps with brown carbon materials like leaves. The pile should be aerated and kept at the moisture of a damp sponge. Troubleshooting issues like odor, pests or temperature can be addressed by adjusting the carbon to nitrogen ratio or moisture level of the pile. Other methods of composting include leaving grass clippings on lawns or sheet composting leaves directly into garden beds.

1. Composting: The Natural Way to Help Your Garden Countryside

5. Ingredients: Countryside Green (high in nitrogen) Browns (high in carbon) Do Not Use Grass Clippings Leaves Bones Prunings Bark Dog/cat feces Fruits and vegetables Straw Oil Houseplants Woodchips Grease Manure: chicken, horse, pig, cow or rabbit Sawdust fat Kitchen scraps: of a vegetative origin Newspaper (shredded) Wood ash Brush (chopped) Meat/fish scraps, dairy products

7. Make Your Own Bin Countryside 1 2 3

8. Commercial Composters Countryside Batch composter Continuous composting Compost aerator

9. Troubleshooting Countryside Problem Possible Cause Solution Foul odor Excess moisture Turn pile or add dry material such as straw Compaction Turn the pile or decrease size Ammonia odor Too much nitrogen Add high carbon (brown items) Low temp Pile too small, too little moisture, poor aeration, cold weather Enlarge pile, add water and turn, turn pile, increase pile size or insulate with straw High temp Pile too large, too much nitrogen Reduce pile size or turn, add high carbon (brown) material Pests present Presence of meat scraps, or fatty food waste Remove meat and fatty foods and cover with a layer of soil, switch to animal proof bin