How to Compost: A Guide to Mining Your Own Black Gold

Gareth Blakesley, operations manager at Lake Katherine Nature Center & Botanic Gardens, walks newcomers through the process of getting started with their own compost pile.

Some gardeners consider compost the black gold of the new millennium. The most dedicated of the bunch turn ordinary household debris into a rich, dark, crumbly material and use it to feed minerals and nutrients to their lawns and plants. Gareth Blakesley, operations manager at Lake Katherine Nature Center & Botanic Gardens in Palos Heights, says the question of how to compost is one that easily can be answered by learning a few tricks of the trade. He also says what’s new really is old—that the popularity of composting today is the result of a circle of life pattern. “People always used to compost in the past,” Blakesley said. “Then there was a period of time when people forgot about these basic ideas. And these basic ideas make sense …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)