Fall is a great time to set up a backyard compost system. The City of of Folsom has shared a few simple steps to get started with your composting this year:
- Select location and composting bin. Choose a convenient spot that provides enough space for a 3’x3’x3’ pile, room for turning the pile, and a water source nearby. Compost bins can be purchased or be built from scrap materials such as pallets and chicken wire.
- Gather organic matter. A healthy compost pile has about a 3:1 ratio by volume of brown carbon-rich material (dried leaves, twigs and branches, wood chips, and cardboard) to green nitrogen-rich material (food scraps, fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, pesticide-free yard clippings). Avoid adding meat and dairy products, and instead bag these items in a clear plastic or compostable bag and place them in your Green Bin.
- Turn compost and keep it moist. A compost bin requires moisture to begin and maintain a healthy microbial presence, which allows the decomposition process to take place. Water the compost at least once a week and monitor to ensure that it is staying moist. Turn and mix the compost to aerate the pile once a week in the summer or more if you want your compost to be ready earlier.
Within 8 to 12 months, compost will be ready for use in your garden beds and yards to add nutrients and improve soil texture and water retention. Learn more about backyard composting at a free workshop hosted by the City of Folsom and the Twin Lakes Food Bank from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, October 13 at the Twin Lakes Food Bank Garden, 320 Montrose Drive. Attendees must park in the Eastside parking lot at Mount Olive Church. Email recycle@folsom.ca.us with questions.