Compost
Compost is decomposed organic matter, and making it is mostly a matter of balance: nitrogen-rich “greens” such as kitchen scraps and fresh grass, mixed with carbon-rich “browns” such as dry leaves, cardboard and straw, kept damp but not sodden and turned enough to keep air in. Almost every failed heap is failing on one of those four — too wet, too dry, too much green and slimy, or too much brown and inert.The guides here cover setting up a heap, bin, tumbler or pit, what to add and what to keep out (cooked food, diseased material, persistent weed roots), how to speed things up in a hot Indian summer or keep it working through a cold winter, and how to tell finished compost from half-rotted material. They also cover the shop-bought side, since “compost” on a bag can mean anything from seed-sowing mix to soil conditioner, and using the wrong one is a common and expensive mistake.
