Getting started on my compost pile was drawn out because I over-complicated every step. Deciding what type of composter to buy took all last summer, as I hated the price and look of the large rotating plastic barrels. I finally settled on the simple wire bin composter pictured above from Gardener's Supply. It's easy to use and costs about $35.
This summer, I'm getting a lot of satisfaction from watching the compost grow, thanks to all the vegetable scraps and yard waste we toss in the pile. Still, I stay confused about the ratio of brown matter versus green and how to "cook" the compost. Then, of course, there's the turning. Unpleasant but necessary.
If you are compost-challenged like me, consider heading to Whitehaven Branch Library Saturday at 11 a.m. for a class on composting by master gardeners John Petty and Christine Diatta. (Remember: 65 percent of the garbage Americans generate is organic.) The class is the first of a four-part series called Urban Gardening, with subsequent Saturday sessions on container gardening on July 30, fall vegetable gardening (can't wait!) on August 6, and fall planting for spring flowers on August 20.
