Creating organic vegetable soil [http://organic-vegetablegardening.blogspot.com/2009/08/organic-vegetable-soil.html] is a natural process; we are simply going to help Mother Nature a bit. The way soil is created in nature is leaves, animal dropping, dead plant material, and fallen trees form a natural mulch over the soil.
The litter on the forest floor is then consumed by smaller and smaller critters, from worms to microscopic organisms. Compost is the final result of this natural process.
When people pile the same types of material into large piles, using a mixture of tree material and plant material it heats up and decomposes much quicker. I am using the terms tree and plant material because it is easier for people new to composting to figure out what is "green" and what is "brown" in compost lingo.
Green material is grass and other plants it is what makes your compost heat up. Browns are normally things from trees (there are exceptions) such as fallen leaves and shredded paper products, the browns keep your compost hot longer.
Once your compost cools down you need to turn it, you'll probably be turning your compost about once a week. That number will vary depending on what you have put into your compost pile and how wet it is.
Once your organic material becomes a uniform brown crumbly dirt-like substance it is ready to be mixed into your garden. You might find the occasional apple core or other tough fruit, vegetable, or chunk of wood left over, just use it in your next batch of compost and it will eventually disappear as well.
This is a very basic and simple guide to making compost, you can always complicate the process with more steps and details but any pile or organic stuff will become compost eventually. Practicing will teach you enough that you will want to read a more complicated guide to creating organic vegetable soil.
The litter on the forest floor is then consumed by smaller and smaller critters, from worms to microscopic organisms. Compost is the final result of this natural process.
When people pile the same types of material into large piles, using a mixture of tree material and plant material it heats up and decomposes much quicker. I am using the terms tree and plant material because it is easier for people new to composting to figure out what is "green" and what is "brown" in compost lingo.
Green material is grass and other plants it is what makes your compost heat up. Browns are normally things from trees (there are exceptions) such as fallen leaves and shredded paper products, the browns keep your compost hot longer.
Once your compost cools down you need to turn it, you'll probably be turning your compost about once a week. That number will vary depending on what you have put into your compost pile and how wet it is.
Once your organic material becomes a uniform brown crumbly dirt-like substance it is ready to be mixed into your garden. You might find the occasional apple core or other tough fruit, vegetable, or chunk of wood left over, just use it in your next batch of compost and it will eventually disappear as well.
This is a very basic and simple guide to making compost, you can always complicate the process with more steps and details but any pile or organic stuff will become compost eventually. Practicing will teach you enough that you will want to read a more complicated guide to creating organic vegetable soil.