The benefits of a backyard compost pile or bin are well known by seasoned gardeners, but sometimes achieving the right mix for that finished “black gold” can be tricky. If the pile is open, it can be ...

Person dumping food scraps into a compost pile - Viktor Sergeevich/Shutterstock Compost is made up of decomposed organic matter that enriches your soil and provides food for your plants. If you're a ...

Composting is one of the most satisfying ways to turn kitchen scraps and yard waste into rich, fertile soil. But even the most careful composters can face a sneaky problem: hidden diseases lurking in ...

Many gardeners add compost to their landscape or vegetable beds as fertilizer. Compost is organic matter that contains the macro nutrients needed by the plant. Inorganic fertilizers provide plants ...

CORVALLIS – If your compost pile at home isn’t getting hot, don’t worry. That heap of yard debris and kitchen waste may be far from steamy, but it will break down eventually. That eases the burden on ...

MICHAEL SCHNEIDER Special contribution to the Peninsula Pulse Composting can seem difficult, even a little intimidating, for ...

Gardeners often assume outdoor compost piles stop working in cold weather, but beneficial microbes can continue to break down compost all winter. The problem is that composting takes much longer in ...