Composting

Make rich compost for your yard and garden using food scraps and yard waste!

• Winneshiek County Waste Education can bring one to demonstrate for your school, church, or civic group
• Build your pile with green and brown materials of approximately equal volume. Kitchen scraps (remember, no meat)
  and grass clipping are examples of green materials. Dry leaves, cardboard, newspapers, and wood chips are examples of browns
• You can add materials any time. Remember to always bury fresh kitchen scraps in the middle of
  the pile, covering them with partially decomposed material. No meat, bones, or fish should be
  included.
• Chop or shred materials, especially if they are dry or woody
• Turn the pile
• Keep the pile moist to accelerate the composting process
• Finished compost is dark brown, crumbly, and moist, with a pleasant, earthy aroma. Large
  pieces can be screened out and returned to a fresh pile.
• You can use your compost as a soil amendment by digging it into the earth, as a mulch by
  spreading it around plants, or as an ingredient in potting mix.