Having compost on hand is extremely beneficial for your herb garden, and for any garden. If you are disciplined in turning your compost pile regularly, you should have rich compost to add to your garden in no time. Adding compost to your garden soil will enrich your soil, providing your plants with the nutrients they need to grow healthy and strong. For maximum benefit, I recommend also fertilizing with organic fertilizers that can be purchased at your garden store. Also, composting at home is good for the environment because when kitchen scraps end up in landfills, they give off methane gas which is bad for the environment.

Buying or Building a Compost Bin

If you are handy and like to build things, you may want to build your own compost bin. There are probably some fine plans for building a bin like this online. Otherwise, buying a compost bin such as the Earth Machine, which is what I have, will work great, too. Some cities actually provide free compost bins to residents because it helps cut down on the amount of trash that goes into landfills. The location that you choose for your compost bin may have an impact on how fast your compost happens. Compost will generally happen faster in a sunnier location.

Getting Your Compost On!

Once you get your compost bin set up, you can either follow the directions that come with the bin if you purchased one, or start with 4 to 6 inches of "brown" material, such as dead leaves or straw. Then you can begin incorporating "green material" in the form of kitchen scraps such as eggshells, fruit and vegetable scraps, rice, pasta, teabags, coffee grounds, and houseplant cuttings. Do not put meat, bones, or other animal parts into your compost pile. Also, do not put any diseased plant matter from your backyard into the pile. Whenever you add green material to the pile, be sure to add some brown material and give the pile a stir to incorporate the additions into the pile.

Turning the Pile

To insure that your compost is running at maximum efficiency, you will want to turn the pile frequently. How often you turn your pile depends on how fast you want to produce compost for your garden. Some people turn the pile every 7 to 10 days, while some turn it once a month. Figure out what is best for you and plan accordingly. Turning the pile more frequently will produce faster results. Also, if your pile seems dry, it is a good idea to add a little water to moisten it. If it seems soggy, more so than a wrung out sponge, don't water it and if possible, increase ventilation. The Earth Machine has a lid with ventilation control that allows you to control airflow to interior of the compost bin.

Compost Tea & Compost Starter

You can find recipes for a compost activating tea online or buy a compost starter at your local garden store that will activate your compost pile faster.

Using Compost

Once you have created your compost, you can either dig it into your garden soil if you are doing a fresh planting, or spread it on top of the soil around your plants. This will benefit your soil and your plants.

Even if you do not use the compost in your garden, you will be doing a service to the environment by putting less garbage in the form of food scraps into the landfills. Your compost pile will keep breaking down even if you do not remove the compost for garden use, so you don't need to worry about it filling up.