Episode 307: Backyard Composting in the 21st Century

This Season Two episode was chosen for a special Encore Broadcast in Season Three.

Joe Lamp'l shows how to make rich, black compost at home - you can do it!

Compost: yes, it occurs naturally – but with a little knowledge we can speed up or enhance the process! This rich, beautiful, life-giving substance teeming with microbes and nutrients is amazingly borne from dead plants, discarded kitchen scraps and yard trimmings through the natural magic of decomposition.

By managing and aiding the decomposition process we can have rich compost even faster, but truly – you don’t have to do a thing if you don’t have the time or inclination. Nature knows what she’s doing, all by herself.

If you want to know that the bagged mulch or soil that you’re buying is free of unacceptable contaminants, such as arsenic from pressure treated wood, make sure that it has the certification seal on the bag! Learn more at mulchandsoilcouncil.org

In this episode, we dig deeper into some of this work to find out how modern science has improved on nature’s perfection, and learn how we can apply this information to our own gardens for even better results.

This episode includes the plans for an open 3-bin compost system made of repurposed shipping pallets, some do’s and don’ts of composting, and Joe shows us which items from the kitchen, office and yard to include and exclude from your compost pile.

For more information:

• Joe’s Blog from this episode: So Much to Say, So Little Time
• Chef Nathan’s Recipe from this episode: Pan-Roasted Asparagus
• GGWTV Episode 112: The Power of Worms (full episode – Vermiculture and Vermicomposting)
• GGWTV Episode 111: Farmer D (full episode – commercial compost from culled Whole Foods produce)
• Compost Diving - gotta see to believe it
• Compost Your Kitchen and Household Waste
• The Compost Club
• Malibu Biodynamic Compost Company
• Burpee Home Gardens Podcast – How to Make Compost
• Burpee Home Gardens Podcast – Why Compost is the Best Soil Amendment for the Garden
• Basic Composting Q&A
• Composting Basics
• Fall Leaves – a Gift to Gardeners
• GGWTV Episode 106: Composting on a Grand Scale (full episode)
• Vermicomposting