How to Add Carbon Matter to Compost

Part of the Video Series How to Compost

Viewing videos requires the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player.
Get the latest Flash player.

When adding yard or kitchen scraps to your compost pile, make sure it is broken down into small pieces. Learn more about what organic materials you can add to your compost pile and how to add them, in this free organic gardening video.

Rating:
Views: 2,480
Comments: 0 (comment now)

Favorited: 0 | Add to Favorites

Tags: compost, fertilizer, garden, kitchen, mulching, organic, soil
Bookmark at:

All Videos in the Series, How to Compost

Member Comments

Video Transcript

How to Add Carbon Matter to Compost
When you add the carbon matter to your compost you want it to be shredded- you want it to be relatively small in size. The reason why is that the more surface area it has, the more surface that the microbes can feed on. So if you put some large branches in here, it would take a long time for those to break down because the microbes can only get to the outer layer. But if you shred those branches, it will break down in a couple of months. The way you would want to shred or chop organic matter from the trimmings around your yard is with a shredder. You can also run over it with a lawn mower- like old leaves, that works great, too. But as far as the branches and things, there’s not really a good way, practically speaking, to get those broken down unless you have a shredder.

About the Expert

Expert: Gale Gassiot makes her own organic compost or "gardener's black gold." Read More