“In Oklahoma, yard trimmings and grass clippings can make up 15 to 25% of a community’s waste,” says David Hillock, a consumer horticulturist with the Oklahoma State University Extension. “The costs of collecting and transporting yard waste and the subsequent landfill tipping fees may be a considerable portion of a community’s waste management budget. These costs may be reduced if communities encourage and practice backyard yard waste composting.”
Compost systems can be simple and slow, such as a heap or pile, which is turned occasionally during the year.
“In general, a bin of some sort makes it easier to manage,” says Hillock. “This can be a large container or a structure made from simple materials like wood, wire or concrete blocks. A more relaxed method is just creating a pile in the corner of the landscape where you throw all your scraps. You can dig a wide but shallow hole to help keep it somewhat contained.”
But what, exactly, can be composted? Most yard waste, such as grass clippings, leaves, twigs and excess vegetation, alongside food scraps without fat, twigs or chipped branches, coffee grounds and tea leaves. The list of what can’t be composted is a bit longer, including large branches, fatty foods, grease, meats, dairy products, fish, bones, synthetic products like plastics, diseased plants, weeds and vegetables that produce abundant seed, and pet or human waste.
The benefits of composting are vast. You’re recycling natural materials; reducing the amount of chemical fertilizer and the amount of material going to landfills and the landfill tipping fees; and extending landfill life.
And if you aren’t sure what to use your compost for, it can:
- Improve soil structure and texture;
- Increase the water-holding capacity of sandy soil;
- Loosen clay soil and improve drainage;
- Add nutrients to improve soil fertility;
- Aid erosion control;
- Work as potting soil;
Substitute as mulch around landscape plants to retain moisture.
“Essentially, we are helping nature do its work by turning ‘free’ plant-based material into a rich source of organic matter and nutrients that improve soil health, which helps plants grow,” says Hillock.
So, you have decided to start composting. Where do you place the compost pile? The best place for a pile is where you’ll actually use it, says Patrick Morey with the Tulsa County Master Gardeners.
To harvest compost, it should ideally be sifted through 1/4”-1/2” hardware cloth, says Morey.
“Whatever falls through can be used in gardens. What doesn’t fall through can be tossed back into the pile to decompose further,” he says.
The best compost has a variety of carbon material (browns) and material with higher nitrogen content (greens).
“For example, carbon rich browns would be dried leaves, straw, shredded paper and paper towels,” says Morey. “Nitrogen rich material would be kitchen scraps like veggies and fruits, even potato peels, orange peels, celery stalks, carrot ends. Finished compost can be turned into the soil prior to planting veggies, or can be used as a top-dressing for perennial flowers, shrubs and trees. Compost helps everything grow better.”
Main image cutline: Composting is a relatively low-maintenance activity that can help communities thrive and gardens grow. Photo courtesy OSU Extension
