The Urban - Suburban Composter: The Complete Guide to Backyard, Balcony, and Apartment Composting by Mark Cullen, Lorraine Johnson

Product Details

Synopsis

Whether you live in a house or an apartment, in the city, the suburbs, or in the country, composting is the ultimate way to achieve a greener garden and contribute to a cleaner planet. The Urban/Suburban Composter delivers complete advice, encouragement, and practical wisdom to help you turn kitchen and garden scraps into nutrient-rich soil. It explains how to select the appropriate type of compost bin; where to buy commercial bins - and how to build your own; what "ingredients" to add - or not to add - to get the best soil; how to keep animals and insects from invading a bin; and how to keep a compost heap from smelling bad. For the veteran composter as well as the absolute beginner, this no-nonsense, inspirational guide will answer all questions and ensure successful, problem-free composting.

Annotation

Whether you live in a house or an apartment, in the city, suburbs, or the country, composting is the ultimate way to achieve a greener garden and contribute to a cleaner planet. For the veteran composter or the absolute beginner, this no-nonsense, inspirational guide ensures successful composting. 40 illus.

Publishers Weekly

Cullen ( A Greener Thumb--The Complete Guide to Gardening in Canada ) and Johnson ( Green Future: How to Make a World of Difference ), both Canadians, recommend composting as a way to reduce one's contribution to the global garbage overflow, and also as a means of simply, safely and effectively enriching what soil you have, even if you are a city dweller. They discuss the basic composting process, in which microorganisms break down organic waste with the help of water and oxygen, releasing energy; then survey assorted variations on the theme, from indoor composting, carried out with the aid of worms in some northerly places, to the pest-proofing of compost bins with wire mesh. Along with diagrams, dimensions and instructions, the authors provide bits of information that are less expected--George Washington favored composting, for instance--in addition to a glossary and source list. (Feb.)