There are so many advantages of turning your kitchen and yard waste into lovely earthy smelling material! Compost helps hold soil moisture, provides slow-release nutrients, encourages healthy root structure, improves soil structure, adds beneficial soil microbes, and reduces weeds – all of which benefit the plants in your garden. It is estimated 40% of waste that goes into landfills is compostable, so doing home composting helps reduce waste going into landfills.

While many gardeners are aware that composting is beneficial, they are often unsure of what is involved and how to get started. The Stanislaus County UC Master Gardeners October library talk topic for October is “Composting Basics,” so this is your opportunity to learn how to do this fun, satisfying, environmentally friendly process! Discover what you can and cannot compost, what “greens” and “browns” are (and how many you need of each in your pile), different methods of composting, and how to troubleshoot when issues come up.

So come to the library nearest you to get the dirt on composting!

Resources

UC ANR Publication #8037 Compost in a Hurry. https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8037.pdf
UC ANR Environmental Notes, Sacramento Master Gardeners, Composting for the Home Gardener https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/files/163139.pdf

Denise Godbout-Avant has been a Master Gardener with UC Cooperative Extension in Stanislaus County since 2020.