Question
Just wondering if there are any reliable businesses to buy tested, organic compost in DuPage County, Illinois.  Trying to get our yard to be more hospitable to butterflies, hummingbirds, etc...  Thanks!

Answer
First, there's Coast of Maine products, including an organic compost, is carried by Whole Foods Markets throughout the nation, including Wheaton, your county seat.  The Portland, Me., company takes refuse from the region's plentiful salmon aquaculture farms, and following various recipes adds wild blueberry barrens and evergreen wood, adding seaweed, lobster, chicken manure, aspen bark and sphagnum peat to make its final compost products.  They have a zipcode box on their website to help you find their products: www.coastofmaine.com/distribute.shtml

You can also email their marketing department to find exactly what you're looking for: [email protected]

Be sure to look over the Coast of Maine product list they post.  It's pretty impressive and they are certified organic.

Next: An Illinois company called Mid-West Bio Systems makes the specialized equipment needed to produce compost.  They have a strong support system for potential compost makers/suppliers, including on site instruction and a leasing program to rent equipment.  Their line is strong and they know what they're doing, which is why I think you should contact them to see who is leasing their equipment and even who they can recommend you buy from: 800-689-0714 or [email protected].

Then there is the matter of YOU.  Get your grass clippings, dead leaves and kitchen scraps in a pile and let it compost itself.  Air it every day -- get a pitchfork and turn it inside out to get air inside and keep the bacteria aerobic.  The more Oxygen, the better and faster your compost will be made.

Bravo on your pro-Earth project!  Keep me posted and let me know how it turns out.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER