About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Every organic garden needs a compost pile. The Complete Compost Gardening Guide provides plenty of options for getting the most out of your compost. Highly recommended for both new and experienced composters.



Pros

• Information for several different methods for making compost.
• Thorough explanation of what should and shouldn't be composted.
• Useful ideas for using finished compost in the garden.

Cons

• Not much information about small-space composting.

Description

• Learn about the basics of composting, including what compost is, tools for composting, and what to add to a compost pile.
• Part Two of the book explains different methods of composting, offering options beyond the standard compost bin.
• The section on catch-and-release vermicomposting explains how to use earthworms in indoor or outdoor worm bins.
• Part Three of the book focuses on different crops to grow directly in your various compost gardens.

Guide Review - Review: "The Complete Compost Gardening Guide"

If you're looking for a comprehensive guide to composting, The Complete Compost Gardening Guide by Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin is the book for you. Pleasant and Martin combine their wealth of gardening and composting experience, and the result is a complete crash course in all things compost.

We're all familiar with the compost bin, but Pleasant and Martin do a great job of encouraging readers to look for other opportunities to compost.

Maybe you could make a no-dig "comforter compost" garden (similar to lasagna gardening/sheet composting) and plant right into it. Or maybe you'd like to compost below ground in trenches, craters, or holes. Either way, The Complete Compost Gardening Guide offers plenty of instruction for not only making the compost, but for deciding which method to use for your particular situation.

The book is sprinkled with plenty of useful sidebars, and the design (which features a wealth of full-color photographs and drawings) is very pleasing. It is a well-organized book, loaded with useful information delivered in an encouraging, even playful tone. If you or someone you know is unsure about this whole composting thing, this is the book for you.



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.