Composting

Your New Year’s Resolution—turn over a new leaf, or lots of them. Start composting. Recycle your fruit and vegetable waste, and yard and garden trimmings into a rich soil amendment for your garden, all in your own backyard. Composting is simply the natural process of organic matter decomposing. The end product is a soil, a humus-like material—a multivitamin for your garden soil.

Compost:

improves soil structure by adding organic content, thereby increasing the water-holding capacity of your soil and reducing your need to water
helps keep heavy clay soil from compacting, making it easier to work; root systems develop better
gives sandy soil better structure
promotes soil fertility
stimulates healthy root development
aids erosion control

Visit our calendar for composting demonstrations offered at all Fair Oaks Horticulture Center (FOHC) events and other locations.

Below is a collection of resources just for the home gardener from the UC Master Gardeners of Sacramento County and other external resources.

All About Composting - everything you need to be a successful with compost.

Composting at the FOHC - demonstration of composting methods at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center (FOHC).

What's in that Bag?—Soil Amendments - handout by Chuck Ingels, Sacramento County UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor.

Master Gardener Publications and Videos

Note: PDF files open in a new window/tab.

Composting for the home gardener (PDF 143KB). (EHN 98)
Composting with worms (PDF 99KB) - basic steps for creating a bin and caring for worms. (GN 144)
Composting tips and tricks (PDF) (GN 142)
Compost sifter - building instructions (PDF) (GN 162)
Composting is Good for Your Garden and the Environment (PDF)

Videos

Problem Solving for Healthy Worms (4:52 min.) - UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
Making a Worm Bin (4:57 min.) - UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
Harvesting Worm Castings (3:10 min.) - UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
Composting: Getting Started (3:47 min.) - UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
Composting: ABCs (4:32 min.) - UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
Composting: Hot vs Cold (5:29 min.) - UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County

External Resources

Compost in a Hurry (PDF) - essential steps for creating finished compost in as little as 2 to 3 weeks. (ANR 8037)
Cornell Composting - composting educational materials, including fact sheets, developed by Cornell University.
Composting in the Home Garden - University of Illinois Extension.

ANR = free publication from the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Catalog
PN = free publication from UC Integrated Pest Management
EHN = Environmental Horticulture Notes from the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
GN = Garden Notes from the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County

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