Endangered New Jersey: Is There Compost in Your Garden?

I ask "Is There Compost in Your Garden?" but the answer should be YES!

Why make compost?

Composting enriches soil, helping retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests.
Composting reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
It encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter to create humus, a rich nutrient-filled material.
It also reduces your trash quanity and so reduces methane emissions from landfills and lowers your carbon footprint.

My composting begins inside the house with a small container made for indoor composting. We add vegetable and fruit scraps and coffee grinds in the kitchen. I avoid things with seeds as they will sprout when you use the compost in the garden. Also avoid weed seeds outside.

I add some dry soil to it during the week so it doesn't get too soggy. I empty it weekly into the outside composter bins.

There are indoor composters that you can buy with charcoal filters, liner bags etc. but you can make something to use following some of the suggestions below.

My backyard composting is done with one rotating bin and one standing bin, but there are a variety of composters you can purchase, and you can also create less formal and less expensive compost piles on your own. (See links below for suggestions)

Select a dry, shady spot near a water source for your compost pile or bin.
Add brown and green materials as they are collected, making sure larger pieces are chopped or shredded. A discarded carrot whole will take a very long time to break down. The smaller the pieces the faster the composting occurs.
Moisten dry materials as they are added, but green materials adds moisture. You don't want the pile to be totally dry or soggy.
Add some good garden soil occassionally as it contains microorganisms that speed up the process. I always start a new compost batch with some of the older, rich compost I am emptying. You can also buy compost starter.
Once your compost pile is established, you can mix grass clippings and green waste into the pile and bury fruit and vegetable waste under 10 inches of compost material. Grass clippings add nitrogen but if not mixed in well with other materials will add too much moisture - and they will stink!
Turn the contents weekly. (That's why the tumbler types make it easier to do.)
Some people cover the top of a compost pile with a tarp to keep it moist but not saturated from rain.
When the material at the bottom is dark and rich in color, your compost is ready to use. This usually takes anywhere from two months in hot weather to six months to a year in colder times.

I "harvest" my compost when I do spring planting and then let the new batches go until early fall when I take some of its ready for my perennials and to mix into the vegetable garden after it is cleared. The rest says in and I add to it for sis months through winter.

There are also things you should NOT compost. The EPA posted this list:

Black walnut tree leaves or twigs because they release substances that might be harmful to plants
Coal or charcoal ash - Might contain substances harmful to plants. Wood ash is okay.
Dairy products (e.g., butter, milk, sour cream, yogurt) and eggs - though egg shells are a good addition. These create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies.
Diseased or insect-ridden plants as diseases or insects might survive and be transferred back to other plants.
Fats, grease, lard, or oils - Create odor problems and attract pests
Meat or fish bones and scraps - Create odor problems and really attract pests!
Pet wastes (e.g., dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter) can contain parasites, bacteria, germs, pathogens, and viruses harmful to humans
Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides might kill beneficial composting organisms.