It's never a bad time to start composting. It's tricky and you need to know what you're doing. Climate zones are important to understand. Here are useful tips from locals about what works for them:

  • Purchase worms to help break down the materials. Red worms work well.
  • Avoid "open" composts because they attract bugs and mice. Closed containers are best.
  • You need to turn compost, so buy a pitchfork or use a closed contained that can be rotated.
  • Don't put potato or onion scraps in unless you're OK with the possibility of sprouts coming up from them. They can also carry vegetable diseases.
  • Add egg shells even though they take forever to break down. If you have a lot of egg shells, put then in a blender or food processor with water to break down faster.
  • Coffee grounds (and the filter papers) are good for composting, as are tea bags.
  • Keep pile damp
  • Herbivore animal poop is good (horses, cattle, not pets)
  • Grass clippings and leaves are OK, but be careful about adding weeds in with them because then you'll have more weeds in your garden.
  • Citrus will break down, but the worms don't like them and you need the worms.
  • Keep ashes out of compost in this area.

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