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Home Composting Without Worms

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Home Composting Without Worms.

If you'd prefer to compost without worms, the good news is: You can!

The process takes a couple of months because you have to wait for stuff to decay.

1. Start in an out-of-the-way place in the backyard.

Make a heap of table scraps (no dairy, fat or meat - they attract rodents and other critters).

Avoid anything big or woody because it won't decompose quickly. If you don't have a good spot on the ground for your pile, consider a plastic bin.

You can even get rounded bins that you roll instead of turning. Kids love this type.

How to compost without worms.

2. When your heap is about 3 feet tall, cover with aged manure.

This is available at garden centers. Water the pile, cover it with black plastic, and let it cook.

It will get very hot inside. Turn it with a pitchfork about once a week so that everything "cooks" consistently. The more often you turn it, the faster it cooks. (If it doesn't cook, add more manure).

3. Over the season, continue to feed your "cooking" compost pile.

Add more garden waste, sawdust, manure, table scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, and shredded paper.

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About the Author

Tara Aronson is a native Californian. Having grown up in San Diego, she studied journalism and Spanish to pursue a career in newspaper writing. Tara, whose three children - Chris, Lyndsay, and Payne - are the light of her life, now lives and writes in Los Angeles. She also regularly appears on television news programs throughout the U.S.