Neat Composting Solutions for Every Size Garden

Vegetable gardens produce a steady stream of organic waste once summer gets going, and composting makes it possible to recycle spent plants and peelings into soil-enriching organic matter. Warm summer temperatures can help new composting projects get going fast, but first you need a plan that fits your garden’s needs.

There are many ways to compost, but the best methods suit the garden and gardener in terms of size and upkeep. Starting with small gardens and moving on to bigger ones, here are easy ways to compost your garden’s garbage…

Enclosed Composters for Small Gardens

The classic composting model, in which green plants and brown materials (like leaves) are piled together, needs a certain size for success, such as waist-high heap. Small heaps rot slowly and generate little if any warmth, and meanwhile they are far from pretty. Neatness counts in a patio or balcony garden where no space is wasted, so small space gardeners need a modest sized bin or can for outdoor composting.

Plastic bins or cans equipped with aeration holes are great for composting garden debris, and they can accept moderate infusions of coffee grounds, tea bags, salad greens and other fast-rotting kitchen waste. Composting worms can be brought in as temporary summer help, or you can activate your heap with corn meal, rice, or flour.

Urban gardens often face severe animal pressure, so choose a container with a secure lid that can be reinforced with a brick, strap or cord. You can make holes in plastic containers with a hammer and nail, but you will need a drill to penetrate metal. Thoroughly perforate the sides of your composting container with holes less than ¼ inch (half a centimeter) wide, making holes about 6 inches (15 cm) apart. Don’t make holes in the top if you want it to shed rain. Starting holes a few inches up from the bottom will keep the composting container from leaving a muddy foodprint.

It may take a while to learn to work with your bin or can, which often involves moving material from side to side with a trowel. Round cans can be rolled on their sides to mix the materials. Resist the urge to clean a composting container between uses, because it will become more effective as its interior gets colonized by beneficial microbes.

Composting Methods for Medium Size Gardens

Let’s say you have a nice collection of beds and containers, but your garden doesn’t generate enough material to fill a pallet bin or make a big heap. A stationary composter is the answer, and most models can handle steady additions of waste from the garden, yard and kitchen. They are widely endorsed by local waste control authorities, and you can often get them free or at a discount through programs like GetComposting in the UK. In the US, many communities provide bins to residents who complete a half-day composting course.

Plants collapse soon after they are cut or pulled, so you can stuff a large amount of material into a stationary composter. I have disposed of whole zucchini plants and mass plantings of bush beans in mine, and the shrinkage was immediate. I also rely on my stationary composter for handling kitchen waste, hidden from view. It’s also ideal for disposing of buggy or diseased plants, which you want to be dead and moving down the food chain as promptly as possible. Most plant pests cannot persist without live plant tissues.

Whether you call it trench composting or in-situ composting, simply burying vegetable and fruit waste in the garden is a real problem solver during food preservation season. Too much fresh, juicy material can overwhelm an enclosed composter, and fruit trimmings can turn an outdoor heap into a yellowjacket hotspot. It’s easier to dig a hole, dump in the day’s kitchen waste, cover it up and then stick the spade in the ground where you will dig the next hole.

Large Garden Composting Strategies

Harvest season is busy in a big garden, with little time for composting when there are crops to harvest and store, and more yet to be planted. Instead of wasting time and energy hauling pulled plants to your main composting area, make several small piles around the garden, and gather them up later, after they have shrunk down to a more manageable size.

Meanwhile, locate and harvest mature compost made last year. Compost matures in seasonal cycles, and early autumn brings a crumbly crop from the previous season. If you have no immediate use for your harvested compost, load it into bins, buckets or large pots and store it through winter protected from rain.

Now you have plenty of space to build a huge new heap!