Home Composting

The EPA estimates that up to 30% of our waste stream is organic materials, such as yard debris and food waste. This presents a huge opportunity for our region to compost as much as we can. 

Composting at home is one of the best ways to "close the loop", taking waste and making it into something valuable. By composting, you can reduce your waste and create a rich soil amendment that is so often needed for our Central Oregon soils. Adding compost to your garden and landscaping adds rich nutrients for healthy, robust plants.

Backyard Composting

Talk about "closing the loop"! By composting your yard waste and food scraps, you can have your own batch of nutrient rich compost.  Learn more about backyard composting.

Worm Composting

Don't have much yard waste? Consider worm composting for your food scraps!  Red wiggler worms love your fruit and veggies scraps and do an excellent job of turning them into rich compost.  Download this great resource for worm composting!

Using Compost in Your Yard

There are many great ways to use compost to enrich your soil and help your garden grow!

• Compost is a great soil amendment for your garden or flowerbeds.  In sandy soils, mix two to six inches of compost into soil each year before planting.
• Add one part compost to two parts potting soil for your potted plants.  Or just combine equal parts compost, sand and vermiculite.
• Use mature compost instead of bark dust or wood chips to hold in moisture and protect roots during the winter.  Spread between two to six inches around plants and trees, being careful to keep compost away from the trunks of trees.
• Sprinkle 1/8" to 1" finely sifted compost evenly over the top of your lawn in the spring and fall.  This adds nutrients, helps fight diseases and may reduce thatching and aeration problems.  It will also increase the water holding capacity of your soil.
• Make compost tea, a great nutritional "drink" to give to your plants.  To make the tea, put 5 or 6 shovel-fulls of compost in a burlap bag.  Submerge the bag in a 50-gallon container and let it steep for 2-3 days.  Apply tea directly to the soil in the garden or around desired plants.
  

Purchasing Compost

Deschutes Recycling sells locally made compost!  Located at Knott Landfill, Deschutes Recycling collects local yard debris and food waste and turns it into rich, dark compost.  They have various products such as the regular SoilBuilder Compost and the more fine BioFine Compost.

Grass Cycling

Grass cycling means leaving your grass clippings on your lawn after you mow. Much like composting, grass cycling returns valuable nutrients to the soil beneath your lawn.  Tips for grass cycling:

• Mow when grass is dry to avoid clumping.
• Set cutting height to 2 - 2.5 inches.
• Water and fertilize less. Remember that every time you leave grass clippings on your lawn you are adding nutrients.