5 important "don'ts" when composting

Composting helps the environment and your garden by reducing waste and providing nutrient-rich soil for your plants. If you've considered starting a compost pile but don't know where to begin, here are a some "don'ts" to help you get going.

Composting is a great way to make use of discarded organic matter from your home to make your soil rich and healthy. It also helps to reduce the amount of material you throw away in the trash.

Although starting a compost pile in your yard is great for the environment, it does require some general care and maintenance. Here are five things to avoid when you are composting.

A compost pile needs moisture in order to stay active.

• Letting it dry out will stop the decomposition process or at least slow it down to a near halt.

If you're not putting enough wet material into your compost pile, such as coffee filters and grounds, tea bags, and so on, make sure that you water it regularly with the garden hose. That will help speed the composting process along.

The purpose of a compost pile is to replenish your garden and add extra nourishment.

• If you add plants or weeds to your compost pile that have been treated with pesticides, it defeats the whole purpose of nurturing your soil.
• What's more, there's a chance you'll reintroduce the chemicals back into the soil by using the compost.

Make sure you are 100 per cent certain that the material you want to add to the compost pile hasn't been treated with any harsh chemicals.

You might be tempted to toss in discarded bread, but this should always be avoided.

• The sugars in bread products are a surefire way to attract rats, mice, squirrels and other critters to your yard.
• This no-go list includes cakes, pasta and pretty much all baked goods.

These foods can also attract different types of insects, which can interfere with the composting process.

A little bit of printed paper won't hurt your compost pile, but you don't want to add too much or add any paper that is heavily coated (for example, glossy) or printed.

• This includes magazine pages, catalogues, brochures and most kinds of wrapping paper.
• You don't want to have any printing chemicals in your compost pile.

A lot of kitchen waste, like eggshells, food scraps, vegetables and fruits, are great for your compost pile but will be very attractive to pests.

• In order to combat this, don't toss anything edible on top of your pile. Instead, use a shovel to turn the compost and bury it in the middle of the pile where the smell won't attract so many pests.

With a little work, you'll be able to convert what was once table scraps into nutrient-rich soil, which can help reduce the volume of waste you toss into the trash each week.