The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting [Paperback]

Chris McLaughlin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 4, 2010 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

Waste not, want not.

The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Composting takes readers step by step through the process of selecting the right compost container, filling it with the right "ingredients," maintaining the mix at the right temperature and humidity, and using the end product.

•A concise format, simplified approach, and thrift-conscious price Chris McLaughlin

•Author is a Master Gardener and an expert on all forms of composting

•Gardening has risen greatly in popularity in the last few years, with an added boost from first lady Michelle Obama, and so has composting, which is cheap, effective, and environmentally friendly

•Thousands of state, regional, and municipal programs have been developed to encourage composting and thus reduce landfill waste

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chris McLaughlin has been an avid gardener for 30 years. She's a master gardener and garden writer whose work has appeared in magazines such as Urban Farm Magazine, The Herb Companion, and The Heirloom Gardener. Chris is a regular contributor to Vegetable Gardener.com and the feature writer for Vegetable Gardens at Suite 101. In between writing assignments, Chris teaches kids about gardening and wildlife.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: ALPHA; Original edition (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1615640088
• ISBN-13: 978-1615640089
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The short story is that I'm a plant-freak and Master Gardener turn garden writer, blogger, and author. I live and breathe my work.

The long story is that:

I Was Taken From My Real Family and Raised by Wolves

I was an Old MacDonald child born into an IBM family. My brothers and I grew up being chauffeured around in one of those station wagons that had a third seat facing backwards. Looking out that big window, along with breathing in a little exhaust, I was able to take in expanses of land and watch it slowly disappear from view.

Along the stretches of highway, I would see property with fenced land and think how wonderful it would be to have a pumpkin patch right out here where everyone would see it and want to stop by. It could come complete with crisp cornstalks flanking the entry to straw bale mazes.

Looking back, I'm certain that my parents were masochists as they kept moving us to the suburbs that rested just on the shoulders of farmland. They carefully chose housing developments that seemed to always bring me within feet of my true love. I spent my weekends walking to nearby farms, pretending they were mine for a while.

When I shuffled back to my side of the fence, I was determined to create my own little farm. As I dug into the hard pan soil of our backyard, the difference in the freshly cultivated earth of the neighboring land was clear. Would it have really been a stretch for my parents to move one street away? But, I digress.

When I was ten, I snagged some Dixie cups from the upstairs bathroom and filled them with some potting soil out of a bag my mother had bought to top off the planters in our yard. Using a hand shovel, I carefully scooped up some small seedlings (I would later learn that they are called "volunteers") in our yard and transplanted them.

Being raised by entrepreneurs, my instincts told me there was a profit to be made. I lined probably fifty of those little paper cups into my younger brother's red wagon and rolled down the street selling them door to door for ten cents each. Looking back, I realize I made a 100% profit since I had zero start-up cost and no overhead (considering my mom's "donations" and the fact that being underage, legally, I was assured overhead until I was eighteen).

With over three decades of plants and soil behind me, I am very sure of just who it is I am.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting is my new Composting Bible!! July 12, 2010

By Shawna Coronado

Format:Paperback

Dirt is my life. No kidding. Its microbial fungus, bacteria, and complexity is what makes it possible for gardeners like me to grow the plants we do. Because of the gardens I have grown, thanks to the soil beneath my toes, I have built a green lifestyle and a career. I feed my family because of this complex dirt and I write stories about the community that surrounds my garden. All of this starts with the soil my garden grows in. Interestingly, soil is life and in the end of our lives we all end up as soil as well.

Composting is, simply put, a way to make kitchen and lawn waste into humus, which is both a soil and soil additive. It can be so rich and full of nutrients that gardeners often refer to it as "black gold".

Over the years I have composted in many ways, learning the hard way because most instructional guides I have found to reference are hopelessly complex.

Recently I read Chris McLaughlin's "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Composting" and see it as an amazing breath of fresh air. Quite clearly it spells out composting - clean, easy, simple, and thorough. Let me repeat - EASY!

From vermicomposting (worm composting) to traditional composting (with bins) to creative composting (grasscycling and sheet composting), this book spells out everything so simply and in such a clear way, that the book has quickly become my "composting bible", not to be loaned out and to always be in my quick reference library.

Composting is such a marvelously green solution; it prevents thousands of tons of food waste from clogging the landfills. You can see in the photos below that I have many types of compost bins and feel it is a necessary and helpful part of gardening.... Composting is amazing and compost certainly adds innumerable nutrients and structure to the soil, which increases fertility thereby building a better garden. I wish I had a simple guide like this from the very beginning of my composting adventure.

Get this fantastic "composting bible" for a well-rounded, easy-to-understand, and always handy guide on how to compost. Read more ›

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source for various composting techniques July 28, 2010

By Michael C. Podlesny

Format:Paperback

I really like this book. With most books for dummies or idiots guides, I was expecting not so much detail, and more generalities. The author of this book goes into great detail with a large variety of composting ideas and techniques. You never feel overwhelmed with information and at the same time, never feel "short changed" so to speak, on the info either.

Whether it's a compost pile, trench composting or vermicomposting, it is in this book. When you are done reading it, you will want to get your compost piles started right away.

-Mike
a.k.a. Mike the Gardener
[...]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! July 30, 2011

By D. Niemann-Boehle

Format:Paperback

This is the only book you need if you want to learn to compost, either in a pile, a bin, or with worms. I love the fact that the author doesn't make it sound like rocket science. She just gives you the info you need to actually do it without having to weigh your garbage or do math or anything time consuming.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The only book you need for your composting June 10, 2011

By svetlana7e

Format:Paperback

This book has all information you need to create your own compost. It written in simple language, easy and entertaining to read but has all information and aspects of composting. The information is not overwhelming and author actually managed to convince me that composting is fun and very rewarding activity.

5.0 out of 5 stars composting June 6, 2013

By Jerry

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

this book is great and easy to understand could not put it down for three days and feel I learned allot thank you

3.0 out of 5 stars Something to think about January 19, 2013

By Gina

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book hoping that I get a good idea on how to create a good soil out of my compost. But pretty much I know is already in this book and this book is good for someone who are starting a compost.

5.0 out of 5 stars Dummies, Idiots. I love these series... January 16, 2013

By Anita

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was a gift that someone actually asked me to buy for them. I assume they liked/appreciated it. I have not heard anything from the giftee. Since it is winter here, perhaps they have not as yet put it to use.

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for any new composters! October 27, 2012

By R. Fritschle

Format:Paperback

What a great little book! I highly recommend it for those gardeners just starting out and for those who need a little refresher course on what's green and what's brown--and how much you need of each!