Resources

Basic Why compost? Compost works for you

COMPOST D E M O NSTRATION SITE Composting is nature’s Not only does composting help the environment,
Stop by Emma Prusch Memorial Park at 647 South
King Road, San Jose to see various compost bins
and a worm compost bin. Open all daylight hours.
Composting way of recycling. It is a
satisfying way to turn
but it can help your garden, yard, and house
plants too! When compost looks like soil and
smells sweet and eart h y, it is ready to use.
your fruit, vegetable
FREE WORKSHOPS Turn your garbage into gold! and yard trimmings into Here are some of the most common ways to
Sign up for our backyard composting workshops!
Call the Rotline for a current schedule. It’s smart—it’s recycling. a dark, crumbly, swe e t - use compost:
smelling soil conditioner.
BOOKS
Backyard Composting, 1992. Harmonious COMPOSTING:
IN THE GA R D E N
Technologies, Harmonious Press, Ojai, CA, 96 pp. Before planting, mix a 4" to 8"
~ Saves you money by lowering garbage bills layer of compost into newly
Let it Rot!, 1975. Stu Campbell, and replacing store-bought soil conditioners.
Ga rden Way Publishing, Pownal, VT, 144 pp.
reclaimed or poor soils. Mix a
~ Helps garden and house plants by improving 1/2" to 3" layer of compost into
Rodale Book of Composting, 1992. G.Gershuny,
the fertility and health of your soil. annual garden beds at least once a year.
Saint Mart i n’s Press, New York, NY, 278 pp.
Compost will add nutrients and beneficial
THE ROTLINE 408-918-4640 ~ Saves water by helping the soil hold moisture
microbes, hold water, and improve plant growth.
The Rotline answers compost questions. and reducing water runoff.
ABOUT THE MASTER COMPOSTER PROGRAM ~ Benefits the environment by recycling
The Home Composting Education Pro g ram teaches
AROUND THE YARD
valuable organic resources and extending the Spread a 1" to 6" layer of coarse compost on
a ten week training course in backyard composting
life of our landfills. soil as a mulch, or spread a 1/2" layer of sifted,
to interested volunteers once a year. Training
consists of approximately 50 hours of classroom weed-seed-free compost on turfgrass as a top-
and hands-on instruction. Volunteers agree to give dressing. These can be done any time of year to
back 50 hours of volunteer service in the form of
composting workshops and other educational
The 4 “R’s” of the yard: improve soil fertility and reduce watering needs.
outreach. For more information contact:
County of Santa Clara Santa Clara County REDUCE the amount of yard trimmings you ON HOUSE PLANTS
Home Composting Education Program make by planting slow-growing, drought- Sprinkle a thin layer of compost over house
1553 Berger Drive, Building 1, San Jose, CA 95 1 12 Home Composting Education Program tolerant plants. plant soil to provide nutrients. You can also
408-918-4640
compost@pln.sccgov.org ~ REUSE yard trimmings by grasscycling make a great potting soil by mixing one part
compost with two parts sand and/or soil.
408-918-4640 (mowing more often, and leaving the clippings
on the lawn) and by mulching fallen leaves
and chipped prunings (spread them 6" deep
DON’T HAVE A
on paths and around trees and shrubs).
GARDEN?
You can still make
RECYCLE remaining yard trimmings by compost and use it
composting. This brochure shows you how. on a house plant,
RESTORE the environment with thriving give it to a friend,
Brought to you by the Recycling and Waste Reduction sprinkle it around a
Commission and your City
gardens. It all starts at home!
street tree, or use it in
Printed on 100% post-consumer re c ycled paper with soy based ink. a community garden.
X9641 REV 5/04
Choose a System Follow the Basics A RECIPE FOR OPEN PILES
“Active” compost:
Thanks to friendly bugs and worms, composting
SYSTEMS FOR FO OD & YARD TRIMMINGS For yard trimmings O NLY. In open piles & simple
is as easy as “1-2-3”—no matter which recipe
Rodent-resistant bins bins, active maintenance prevents animal nesting.
you use!
~ For fruit, vegetable & yard Ingredients:
trimmings (using “mixed”
compost recipe) 1 CHOP materials if you want them to break
d own more quickly.
Yard trimmings only (browns & greens), water as
needed.
Directions:
~ For yard trimmings alone
(using “no-fuss” recipe) 2 MIX “browns” (dry, woody materials) with
“greens” (moist, green materials).
Recipes FOR RODENT-RESISTANT BINS
Feed yard trimmings to your compost by chop-
ping them into pieces 6" or smaller, then mixing
~ Bins require sides, lid, & no holes
bigger than 1/4"
3 MAINTAIN air & water balance by keeping
compost as moist as a wrung-out sponge. “No-fuss” Compost:
them into the pile. Feed as often as you like. Be
sure to balance browns with greens. Maintain pile
by turning or mixing it about once a week. Keep it
Browns, greens, air & water are the “big four” For yard trimmings O NLY. Requires a rodent-resistant
Open piles & simple bins as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Covering it with
that will keep eve ry compost pile happy. bin to pre vent animal nesting.
~ For yard trimmings ONLY a plastic tarp will help keep it moist. Harvest rich,
Ingredients: b rown, finished compost by sifting out coarse,
DO COMPOST DON’T CO M P O ST Yard trimmings only (browns & greens), water as
~ Re q u i res “active” composting (chopping unfinished materials after 3 to 8 months.
& weekly turning to keep animals out) Most sawdusts Meat, bones, or fish needed.
Chopped, woody prunings Dairy products or grease Directions:
~ Usually inexpensive or free Feed chopped or unchopped yard trimmings into TROUBLESHOOTING
Pine needles Grains, beans or breads
bin as you generate them. Maintain compost by
Fallen leaves Dog, cat or bird feces Symptoms Problems Solutions
SYSTEMS FOR JUST FO OD TRIMMINGS keeping it as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Harvest
For more information, see the Worm Sawdust from rich, brown, finished compost from the bottom and Pile not Too dry Add water until
plywood/treated wood center of the pile after 12 to 18 months. composting slightly damp &
Composting & Other Methods brochure. Tea bags
Diseased plants turn (mix)
Worm bins Citrus rinds
(in cold piles) Too much Add fresh green
~ Most fun! Takes some time Coffee grounds & filters
Fruit & vegetable brown matter matter or organic
& effort Lawn clippings & young trimmings (in open “Mixed” Compost: n i t rogen fert i l i zer
~ For indoors or outdoors we e d s piles/simple bins)
For fruit, vegetable & yard trimmings together. This & turn
~ Produces excellent fert i l i ze r Fruit & vegetable recipe requires a rodent-resistant bin and active
trimmings Pile smells Too wet/too Turn & add
Closed-Air Systems maintenance to prevent animal nesting and feeding. rotten/attracts many food browns (dry,
Herbivo re manures Ingredients:
~ Low maintenance flies scraps or woody materials)
~ Prone to odor & insect problems Fruit, vegetable & yard trimmings (browns & lawn clippings or dry soil
Hot compost happens when you follow the basic greens), water as needed.
Underground Composting “1-2-3” carefully, and the pile is about a cubic Directions: Food scraps B u ry & mix food
~ Re q u i res digging a hole each Feed yard trimmings to your pile as you generate exposed scraps into pile
yard (3'x3'x3'). Heat can accelerate composting
time you add new materials and kill weed seeds and plant diseases, but is them by chopping them first into pieces 6" or Non- Remove meat,
~ No harvesting necessary not necessary. Cold, slow piles are just as good. smaller. Food scraps need to be buried and mixed compostables dairy, grease,
into the center of the pile. Never dump and run! etc. & turn
Remember... Whenever you compost fruit & If your pile is large enough, moist, and well
Be sure to mix in enough browns to balance your
vegetable trimmings, use a container with sides, chopped, but not heating up, you can turn it and Rodents in pile Foodscraps in Use traps or baits,
greens. Feed as often as you like. Maintain com-
lid, and no holes bigger than 1/4", or bury food mix in some greens like grass clippings or an post by turning or mixing it about once a week.
open bin/holes rodent-proof bin,
scraps at least one foot under the soil organic nitrogen fertilizer. For faster hot com- larger than remove meat,
Keep it moist as a wrung-out sponge. Harvest rich,
surface. posting and better weed-seed kill, turn or mix 1/4 in./non- grease, etc.
brown, finished compost by sifting out coarse,
your hot pile about once a week. compostables & turn
unfinished materials after 3 to 8 months.