I attended a conference a few years back where an environmental group (I believe it was the DEP) was sponsoring a raffle for a free composting bin known as the “Earth Machine” (www.earthmachine.com). A few weeks later, I opened the door to an enormous box containing my very own, brand new compost bin.

I knew a bit about composting, but I knew I would need some more information before taking on this project. Right on cue, there was a book in the box, Home Composting Made Easy, by C. Forrest McDowell and Tricia Clark-McDowell. Only 31 pages, this book seems more like a booklet or brochure, but with the wealth of information that it provides, I don’t care what form it comes in. The back of the book notes that this is the OFFICIAL USERS GUIDE FOR THE EARTH MACHINE- THE WORLD’S #1 SELLING HOME COMPOSTER.

The cover of Home Composting Made Easy is the same thickness as the inside pages, although it is glossy. The size is easily described by taking an 8-1/2 by 11” piece of paper and folding it in half. Voila! Just like this book.

The cover exclaims that there are Over 250,000 In Print, which came as a surprise. Not the kind of book that I would expect to be sold as an average book. Copyrighted in 1998, this book’s back cover lists its price as $2.95 (U.S.). You can’t beat a few dollars for a book that is packed with information! This is not the kind of information that becomes dated, so everything remains pertinent to the subject at hand no matter how many years pass.

Inside the front cover of Home Composting Made Easy, there is a little introduction (GOODBYE WASTE…HELLO BLACK GOLD!). Then there is the Contents, which definitely come in handy considering the amount of information packed into this little book.

What is Compost?
Benefits of Compost
Compost: Key to Nutrition

Setting Up Your System
Composting Systems
Siting Your Compost Area
Stockpiling Materials

Composting Basics
What to Compost
The Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio
How to Use Activators
Turning Your Pile
Composting: A Quick Start Guide

How to Compost…
The Add-as-you-go Pile
The Batch Pile
Grass Clippings
Food Scraps
Leaves & Weeds
Garden Debris
Worm Composting

Nifty Information
Stages of Composting
Using Finished Compost
Questions & Answers
Troubleshooting Chart
Resources
Home Waste Management

As you can tell from the first few topics of the Contents, Home Composting Made Easy covers everything, starting from the very beginning of how to compost. If you have never composted before and you are clueless, then this is a handy book.

The pages of Home Composting Made Easy are busy with graphics, clip art, diagrams, and so on. Although some of these graphics seem a little mis-matched, I was not bothered by this. I felt that the pictures livened the topics, often helping me to find what I was looking for more quickly as I browsed through pages of information. Diagrams came in handy in terms of illustrating a point, such as finding a good place to situate your compost bin.

There is also a lot of use of bolded and various size print. It seemed as if in writing this book, rules where thrown out the door. I found absolutely nothing wrong with this method! I enjoyed seeing large bold print exclaiming “Don’t Compost:” or “Do Compost”, and other loud titles shouting out things like “Pros”, “Cons”, “Step 1” and whatnot. There are so many stages to setting up a compost bin, composting your waste, and then using that compost. Home Composting Made Easy simplified the information by breaking it down into bits and pieces of prioritized information.

I definitely like the size of Home Composting Made Easy. It’s not quite a book but it’s also not just a pamphlet that gets lost. It makes it easy to keep this book somewhere that is handy, somewhere that it is on hand when you have questions about your compost. I kept mine on a kitchen shelf where I could easily grab it if I had a question such as what I could or couldn’t put in the compost bin.

In the back of the book, the Troubleshooting Guide and Resources sections are both very helpful. Although the list of problem symptoms is not long, it is relatively comprehensive considering the subject matter. With a page of resources, anyone interested in composting or learning more is able to research further materials. There are books, videos, periodicals and internet websites included in the list.

On the inside of the back cover of Home Composting Made Easy, it is apparent that the authors are truly involved in environmental awareness. In this last Home Waste Management section, readers can learn how to further their part in helping the environment, whether it be reusing items or shopping sensibly. The authors, who have created other publications and resources, are the co-directors of the Cortesia Sanctuary & Center for Natural Gardening and Healing, located in Oregon. The book provides you with their website, at:
http://www.cortesia.org.

So no matter what kind of compost bin you have and no matter what your level of experience is in composting, Home Composting Made Easy is for you. This guide is very comprehensive. I would characterize it as an enjoyable and simple reference book for any level of experience. As you read through bulleted lists and browse through charts and pictures, the skills of composting will be easily absorbed. Hopefully, this book will result in diverting ”over 30% of your total home waste from landfills, simply by composting kitchen, yard, and garden waste”. Not to mention, all that really great mulch!

Home Composting Made Easy has helped me to successfully compost a great deal of material, leaving me with some nutrient-rich soil that plants absolutely love. Ideas and concepts are presented clearly and concisely. With its light-hearted, fun, and often humorous approach, I never felt as though I was slogging through… well… compost!

Good luck!

* As a side note, I love my Earth Machine compost bin! It is light and comes in parts which make it easy to ship or deconstruct. It’s easy to understand, has a cute little front door, and a nice locking lid that allows for various levels of air circulation. I think this is definitely a great compost bin, and I am happy that this compost guide endorses the Earth Machine.


Recommended: Yes