The Organic Composting Handbook: Techniques for a Healthy, Abundant Garden

by Dede Cummings

Overview

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the various methods of composting and how to adapt them to your home and garden. With full-color photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, this will be an essential addition to every gardener’s library.

Great compost is one of the most important secrets of successful organic gardening. Topics covered here include:

• What you can and can’t throw on your compost pile
• How to balance nitrogen and carbon in your pile for quick decomposition and rich compost
• Buying or building the best tools and containers
• Vermicomposting
• How to compost indoors
• Troubleshooting smelly compost, dry compost, and other problems
• How and when to apply the compost to your garden beds

With growing concerns about the use of pesticides, herbicides, and GMOs in mainstream gardening practices, more and more families are turning to their backyards to grow their own food using methods they know are safe. The need for clear, straightforward instruction on organic gardening techniques has never been greater. With The Organic Composting Handbook, readers will get the information they need to prepare their gardens for healthy, abundant crops.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629141725
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	02/10/2015
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	685,133
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Dede Cummings is the coauthor of Living with Crohn’s & Colitis: A Comprehensive Naturopathic Guide for Complete Digestive Wellness and Cooking Well: IBS.

Table of Contents

Foreword Cheryl Wilfong ix

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 What is Composting? 1

Chapter 2 Why is Composting Important? 7

Chapter 3 Composting 101 19

Chapter 4 Containers 31

Chapter 5 Urban Composting 41

Chapter 6 What Do You Do With It? 55

Chapter 7 Timing Is Everything 69

Chapter 8 Composting Is Easy 77

Chapter 9 What Goes In Your Pile, Getting Started, and Troubleshooting 87

Chapter 10 How the Science Works 95

Chapter 11 Using What You Make-Starting a Garden or Donating to a Community Garden 107

Chapter 12 Success Stories 119

Chapter 13 Don't Worry! Your Questions Answered 127

Chapter 14 Going Forward 137

Appendix 140

Glossary 147

Resources 149

Photo Credits 159

Index 161