Composting

Whether it's hot composting, vermicomposting, bokashi, or another method, you need to be doing this essential gardening technique to boost your soil.

A close-up and overhead shot of a large pile of several discarded ornamental plants, showcasing compost christmas tree

Composting

How to Compost Your Christmas Tree

After the holidays, your Christmas tree doesn't need to end up in a landfill. Gardening expert Madison Moulton explains how to compost your tree, turning it into valuable organic matter for your garden while reducing waste.

Indoor composting scene with a woman adding vegetable peelings to a small countertop compost bin, where carrot leaf scraps hang over the edge.

Composting

5 Indoor Composting Methods to Try this Season

Composting recycles organic matter, transforming it into rich, crumbly humus that benefits your plants. Don’t let cold winter temperatures stop you from doing it! Instead, try one of these five methods for indoor composting. Seasoned composter Jerad Bryant shares how to upcycle waste in the comfort of your home.

A gardener tosses fresh vegetable scraps into a compost container in the garden, illustrating practical fall compost tips for enriching soil.

Composting

Fall Composting Tips

Now’s the time to compost! Debris is abundant, the weather is mild, and microbes are active. Composting is a great way to reduce your waste output, and it’ll help you save money on mulch and soil during the growing season. Follow these fall composting tips from experienced composter Jerad Bryant.

A small rat pest nibbling on food scraps amid decomposing organic matter in a compost heap.

Composting

How To Prevent Pests in Your Compost Pile

Compost piles should be full of bugs! Composting relies on fly larvae, worms, and microbes that convert decaying organic matter into humus. Other pests, like raccoons and rats, are not good for compost. Join longtime composter Jerad Bryant and learn how to prevent these critters from raiding your piles.

A gardener in yellow gloves puts kitchen scraps into a green compost bin full of soil and food scraps using a garden trowel, showing how composting can be done in a small space.

Composting

Composting Solutions for Small Spaces: 7 Expert Tips

No yard is too small for compost! Whether you have a balcony, backyard, or an empty room, you can convert old waste into this humus-rich amendment. Gather your kitchen scraps and get ready to compost with these seven expert tips from backyard composter Jerad Bryant.

Close-up of little girl in pink jacket pouring kitchen waste into compost bin in autumn garden.

Composting

Composting with Kids: 7 Ways to Get Kids Excited About Compost

Young or old, composting is a wonderful way to observe natural processes, address food waste, and build healthy soils. It helps us participate in our foodways from start to finish. It’s easy, inexpensive, and productive. And there are tons of ways to involve your budding naturalist. Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in ideas to inspire kids to create their own garden gold.

sterilize compost. Close-up of a man's hand pouring a pile of compost from his palm against a blurred green background. Compost, the end product of the decomposition process in a compost pile, is characterized by its dark, crumbly texture and earthy aroma. Compost is composed of decomposed organic matter such as kitchen scraps, yard waste, and plant material, broken down by microorganisms and other decomposers over time.

Composting

Should I Sterilize Compost Before Use?

If you’ve had problems with plant diseases, you may think putting compost in the oven or microwave is a quick fix cure. Sterile means pathogen-free, right? Well, things are a bit more complicated than that. Former organic farmer and soil expert Logan Hailey explains the nuances of home-sterilizing compost and the science behind pathogen-free compost.