Let It Rot!: The Home Gardener's Guide to Composting [Paperback]

Stu Campbell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Garden Way (1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882660497
• ISBN-13: 978-0882660493
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,377,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'll be a pro at composting by the end of the season, April 7, 2002

By 

Jessica Ferguson "threelittlebirds" (Woodbury, NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting (Third Edition) (Storey's Down-To-Earth Guides) (Paperback)

This is a great, clear cut, interesting and fun-to-read book! Stu Campbell is able to take what, to newcomers, can be a daunting task and not only present us with the basics to feel comfortable but he also translates some of the scientific "mumbo-jumbo" of how and why compost works into layman's terms. He includes real "recipes" and approaches to try as well as suppling a list (though not nearly complete) of good materials to compost as well as what NOT to use. A short "troubleshooting" chapter called "Things You Might Worry About a Little" is a bit over the top for beginners but is part of what makes this book valuable for the seasoned composter. Let It Rot! is a not-to-technical, well-written, easy-to-read guide that takes the "yuck" out of your composting ideas! Perfect for beginners and a great refresher for near professional composters.

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creating the best garden ever starts at the bottom, February 11, 2008

By 

H. Grove "Errant Dreams Reviews" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting (Third Edition) (Storey's Down-To-Earth Guides) (Paperback)

Composting, in case you aren't terribly familiar with it yet, is simply the practice of allowing waste matter to rot and decompose until it's fit to be tilled right into the soil. However, while the basic concept is as old as mother nature and often very easy to execute, it also helps to know more about it. What materials should you compost, and which should you avoid? Do you have to worry about animals or flies in your compost? How do you make sure your compost will turn into dirt and not a slimy, stinky sludge?

While nearly every gardening book these days has a section on composting and most of these are enough to get you by, Stu Campbell's Let It Rot! is an entertaining, folksy and in-depth take on the art that will see you through nearly any foreseeable difficulty. I was certainly able to successfully compost with the simpler directions in other books, but there's information in here I wish I'd had back when I first started. For instance, now I know the cobweb-like stuff that I feared was mold was the natural activity of Actinomycetes, a part-bacteria, part-fungus organism that aids decomposition in certain parts of a compost pile.

Mr. Campbell's book also introduces a great many different types of compost piles and composters that you can use, depending on what you're trying to accomplish, what area you have to work with, or what you're trying to decompose. He also suggests many ways to use compost in and around your garden, and how to get the most out of it. I'm glad I picked up Mr. Campbell's book, because I learned an incredible amount of new material!

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's An Artform, June 14, 2001

By 

Dominic Smith (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting (Third Edition) (Storey's Down-To-Earth Guides) (Paperback)

There's more to composting than just sticking a bunch of dead things in a pile and waiting for it to rot - although that will work. It can be a virtual art form, and this book proves it. From building a compost container to adding the ingredients, this book leaves out nothing. Handy tips on speeding up the decomposition, encouraging worms, creating leaf-mold, using it once you've made it. You'll never look at an apple core quite the same way again. In this day and age with the emphasis placed heavily on recycling, this book provides heaps of how-to's in getting the most out of your waste.