Now that fall is around the corner, it’s time to get ready to compost and use your lawn scraps, keep food waste out of the landfill and give back to the environment.
Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lisa Hilgenberg has this week’s gardening tips on how best to compost.
Compost has several benefits, Hilgenberg said. For one, it adds fertility to your garden beds before winter.
“It is a good way to recycle (and) reuse your lawn clippings and kitchen scraps,” Hilgenberg said.
Second, a healthy compost has a balanced ratio of materials. It is one third green matter, which can be green leaves or grass and two thirds carbon-based materials like dry leaves, cardboard, paper or straw. And then all the food scraps and some water, Hilgenberg said.
“The general rule of composting is to make sure we are not using too much of any one ingredient,” she said.
Third is layering; it is just as important as ingredient balance. Make sure to maintain moisture with a small bit of water that isn’t dripping out but soaks into the soil.
Generally speaking, if the material is the right consistency and balance, compost is ready in about six months.
For Chicagoans who want to get into composting but don’t have any garden beds to use, there are several composting pickup services that work with suburban and West Side farms. Check out a list of services and tips on how to get started here and learn more about composting from the Chicago Botanic Gardens here.