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Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting
If you’re ready to throw out the rule book and return as much as you can to the soil, Compost Everything is the book for you. It’s time to quit fighting Mother Nature and start working with her to recycle organic matter and create lush and beautiful gardens with some of the most extreme composting techniques known to Man!
In this inspiring composting guide, you’ll learn how to…
…brew your own fish fertilizer with a few easy ingredients
…quit turning piles and make compost the simple way
…avoid roasting your garden with chemical-laced manure
…discover the Native American trick for concentrating fertility and growing in lousy soil
…squeeze every ounce of fertility from your compost
…deal with grid-down sanitation
…stop filling landfills and start enriching your yard
…turn “trash” into treasure
...get rid of unwanted bodies.
Learn to compost like you’ve never composted before with expert gardener and master composter David the Good.
In this inspiring composting guide, you’ll learn how to…
…brew your own fish fertilizer with a few easy ingredients
…quit turning piles and make compost the simple way
…avoid roasting your garden with chemical-laced manure
…discover the Native American trick for concentrating fertility and growing in lousy soil
…squeeze every ounce of fertility from your compost
…deal with grid-down sanitation
…stop filling landfills and start enriching your yard
…turn “trash” into treasure
...get rid of unwanted bodies.
Learn to compost like you’ve never composted before with expert gardener and master composter David the Good.
110 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 10, 2015
136 people are currently reading
294 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
November 30, 2015
I'm a hobby gardener. I'm not a very good one, but I garden, and one of the areas that I never got a good grip on was composting. I bought this book hoping it would help me understand composting better. It did, hoo boy, did it ever.
David the Good is possibly insane. This, surprisingly enough, helps more than you'd think.
Imagine if Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll decided to team up and turn their twisted genius to create a creature with the devil's own green thumb, bent on composting everything organic.
A creature with such a warped mind that he would be willing to do anything, and I do mean anything, as an experiment in composting, regardless of the warning signs that he might be playing with powers beyond mortal ken.
A creature of such singular madness would then write a book about his ill-advised adventures.
David gives the dirt on dirt, so to speak. If you want to know how to compost things that you've told never to compost, like chicken bones, or meat, to name two of the less icky ones, this is the book to reveal the secrets of soil. David also gives warnings, since you will be dealing with dead and rotting things, and tips on how best to do things, and what to avoid.
This is a must have for those, like me, that have long viewed composting as a strange art, and possibly requiring part of your soul, and demystifies so many things. Composting doesn't have to be a complicated mess of proper ingredients keep at the right humidity and temperature, requiring constant adjustments and effort. You can, if you want it really simple, just throw it on the ground. David digs deeper, of course, and his advice can be modified for nearly any climate.
It's clearly written, short, easy to read, and slightly mad. Highly recommended.
David the Good is possibly insane. This, surprisingly enough, helps more than you'd think.
Imagine if Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll decided to team up and turn their twisted genius to create a creature with the devil's own green thumb, bent on composting everything organic.
A creature with such a warped mind that he would be willing to do anything, and I do mean anything, as an experiment in composting, regardless of the warning signs that he might be playing with powers beyond mortal ken.
A creature of such singular madness would then write a book about his ill-advised adventures.
David gives the dirt on dirt, so to speak. If you want to know how to compost things that you've told never to compost, like chicken bones, or meat, to name two of the less icky ones, this is the book to reveal the secrets of soil. David also gives warnings, since you will be dealing with dead and rotting things, and tips on how best to do things, and what to avoid.
This is a must have for those, like me, that have long viewed composting as a strange art, and possibly requiring part of your soul, and demystifies so many things. Composting doesn't have to be a complicated mess of proper ingredients keep at the right humidity and temperature, requiring constant adjustments and effort. You can, if you want it really simple, just throw it on the ground. David digs deeper, of course, and his advice can be modified for nearly any climate.
It's clearly written, short, easy to read, and slightly mad. Highly recommended.
May 14, 2019
David the Good is a fresh voice for good gardening and agriculture, but more tailored toward sustainable home living. He has personally helped me deal with some serious herbicide damage due to large-scale modern agriculture practices. The consequences of such practices are killing people's gardens and its not an easy problem to sniff out and find the culprit. David teaches how to avoid such dependency on outside and untrusted resources for mulch and compost. This book draws from his own extensive experience growing in several locations, and from his research drawn from similar minds like Steve Solomon ("Gardening When It Counts," another classic and excellent read). This is a concise, cheerful, witty and knowledge-filled book. Even if you can't practice all of the methods in this book, you can glean and adapt for whatever your circumstance. A great read, one of five "Good Guides," and I look forward to reading the others.
November 6, 2017
Number one takeaway from this book: section describing how Dow AgroSciences makes a product that ruins manure. Manure! The product is so toxic that when cows eat grass that was treated with it, their manure, when used to make compost, kills plants. Extreme threat to all ecosystems, and I don't know that any person or group will take on Dow to fight its legality. Scary and awful.
August 1, 2016
My husband composted sometimes and sometimes not. I was feed up with all the rules about composting, and the more fresh food I ate the more I hated throwing out the scraps. If I mixed them with the chicken waste I would have to wait a long time and jump through hoops to make sure it was safe. So I started just throwing the compostable materials into a new bin near the kitchen door and just left it. In a short time (a week?) it was full of larvae. I didn't know if I should be disgusted or fascinated. I looked it up and found another woman had done the exact same thing with the same results. Turns out this is a good thing. Then I read that in some area of CA they pick up all their compost materials including meat scraps-meat scraps! That breaks the rules! I'm a vegan, except for my pets, so what was I worried about, and I started throwing in a lot more. This books had the same attitude with a lot of explanations on what is actually taking place in the compost and a lot more ideas to use everything. It's a short book full of information, not a wasted word, very useful, and actually doable without buying lots of stuff or using lots of time. And it turns out the author doesn't live far from me either; maybe we will meet sometime.
July 20, 2017
Wow! I now want to compost everything in sight!
July 13, 2018
Crazy, unconventional, imminently practical, and hilariously-written advice on composting that just flat works.
July 1, 2023
Cuốn sách tổng hợp mọi cách tái chế từ nguyên liệu thừa trong nhà bếp đến thịt, xương, nội tạng, phân, nước tiểu - những thứ mà ít người nghĩ đến khi nói về tái chế. Với tất cả các phương pháp, tác giả đều giữ sao cho đơn giản nhất có thể, với phương châm tận dụng tất cả những gì có thể ở quanh bạn, chứ không phải kiểu dạng tái chế sang chảnh, đắt tiền hay gặp trên Internet.
January 18, 2021
Author David the Good, takes a boring sometimes complex subject and breaks it down with wit, humor, and occasionally his special brand of sarcasm. This leaves you with a quick to read 139 page handbook that enables you to step boldly forward knowing that you can't mess this up!
Only as hard as it needs to be. Great little book, should be in every gardeners reference collection.
Only as hard as it needs to be. Great little book, should be in every gardeners reference collection.
April 17, 2019
Interesting book that taught me several new techniques to make use of. The most useful part was learning about aminopyralid and the havoc it can wreak. I will certainly be on the lookout to avoid this in the future.
January 27, 2017
Compost Everything is as entertaining as it is informative. It is filled with useful information and he draws the reader in and keeps her attention with his wit. Not a boring reference book, actually a very fun read.
January 6, 2016
Before reading this book, I never gave composting a second thought. I assumed it would be too difficult to learn and get involved in. David the Good changed my mind with this book. He takes what you've always heard about composting and turns it upside down (with explanations as to why those composting "rules" are believed and practiced). He spells out exactly how to build several different composting options from the simple (throwing *most* of your scraps and trash into a bucket/pile/hole) to the disgustingly intriguing (using a bucket instead of a toilet for a year and composting their "loot"). He includes instructions on how to economically build (and care for) successful worm farms and composting tea collectors.
It's also worth noting that David the Good is hilarious. This book is entertaining from beginning to end. Not only are you going to learn WAY more than you thought possible about composting, but you're going to have a blast while you do it.
It's also worth noting that David the Good is hilarious. This book is entertaining from beginning to end. Not only are you going to learn WAY more than you thought possible about composting, but you're going to have a blast while you do it.
June 1, 2021
This is a good book for beginner gardeners. I've been going at it for a while so there was really nothing new here. If you've composted before, all this does is review the "rules" and tell you its okay to break them, which is true of everything in the garden.
Edit: After sitting on this for a while and thinking about it...I'm not sure it's something a "beginner gardener" should read either. I say this based on the practical experience that most people simply don't follow the "normal" rules and mess up their composting to begin with. When you start breaking those rules you could potentially end up with a dangerous situation because you didn't follow the "new rules" he is outlining here. I would say: aim for the right way first and maybe come here after if you need to. I suspect half the people who read this will end up composting a dead chicken 1 inch under the soil 3 feet from their front door.
Edit: After sitting on this for a while and thinking about it...I'm not sure it's something a "beginner gardener" should read either. I say this based on the practical experience that most people simply don't follow the "normal" rules and mess up their composting to begin with. When you start breaking those rules you could potentially end up with a dangerous situation because you didn't follow the "new rules" he is outlining here. I would say: aim for the right way first and maybe come here after if you need to. I suspect half the people who read this will end up composting a dead chicken 1 inch under the soil 3 feet from their front door.
Read
September 14, 2019I discovered David the Good while browsing YouTube looking for inspiration for my new adventure of tropical gardening. As a fellow expat, David the Good is an excellent source of knowledge. His matter-of-fact approach and refusal to abide by the unfounded rules passed down by mere tradition, make him one of my favorite gardening gurus.
This little booklet on composting is chock full of valuable information, great ideas, and a generous splash of quirky humor. My kind of gardening book for sure! He writes like he talks, and it is both informative and entertaining.
I highly recommend this as a beginner's guide to composting, as well as an "experts" guide to thinking outside the box.
Now I'm eager to read the other DTG books. He wrote a gardening thriller . . . I can only imagine how entertaining that's going to be!
This little booklet on composting is chock full of valuable information, great ideas, and a generous splash of quirky humor. My kind of gardening book for sure! He writes like he talks, and it is both informative and entertaining.
I highly recommend this as a beginner's guide to composting, as well as an "experts" guide to thinking outside the box.
Now I'm eager to read the other DTG books. He wrote a gardening thriller . . . I can only imagine how entertaining that's going to be!
May 17, 2020
A short, informative, fun read.
If you're looking for a ton of information on why things work (or why they don't), this is probably not for you. However, if you want a lot of very practical advice, plus some stuff that may be totally impractical for you but is fun to read about, this is your book.
I loved the humor in this. I did not expect to actually laugh reading a book on composting, but here we are.
This is a great introduction to what's possible, and a lot of inspiration to get started.
If you're looking for a ton of information on why things work (or why they don't), this is probably not for you. However, if you want a lot of very practical advice, plus some stuff that may be totally impractical for you but is fun to read about, this is your book.
I loved the humor in this. I did not expect to actually laugh reading a book on composting, but here we are.
This is a great introduction to what's possible, and a lot of inspiration to get started.
May 2, 2016
Excellent guide to compost just about anything
Well written, funny at times, easy to read, and very informative. I appreciated the multitude of composting methods the author included, as well as his stories of how he applied them to his own garden. While I already practice some of the methods in this book, he inspired me to incorporate several methods he describes in the future. Highly recommended.
Well written, funny at times, easy to read, and very informative. I appreciated the multitude of composting methods the author included, as well as his stories of how he applied them to his own garden. While I already practice some of the methods in this book, he inspired me to incorporate several methods he describes in the future. Highly recommended.
June 2, 2020
The awesome 101 composting guid
David really explain everything he knows about composting in this book. The way it's written, is like a friend giving tips and tricks to his other friend. I like the informal language and mentioning his knowledge he acquired from other people. His experience is also making the explanation even more legit. I will use this knowledge in the future gardening and my dream farm!
David really explain everything he knows about composting in this book. The way it's written, is like a friend giving tips and tricks to his other friend. I like the informal language and mentioning his knowledge he acquired from other people. His experience is also making the explanation even more legit. I will use this knowledge in the future gardening and my dream farm!
May 16, 2015
I am not much of a gardener but I decided to try out David's book anyway. I was not disappointed.
David brings wit and a plethora of information. I never thought reading about composting could be so entertaining!
Give this book a try. You will not be sorry you did.
David brings wit and a plethora of information. I never thought reading about composting could be so entertaining!
Give this book a try. You will not be sorry you did.
April 17, 2016
Good gardening with humor and sass.
David's take on gardening is informative and fun whether you are reading or watching him. This book like most of his videos is short, full of info, and enjoyable to consume.
David's take on gardening is informative and fun whether you are reading or watching him. This book like most of his videos is short, full of info, and enjoyable to consume.
April 18, 2016
Who knew that composting could be so interesting and fun! David the Good does an excellent job encouraging and informing his reader about composting in this delightful read. Since reading this book I have started composting and will soon plant my own little garden. Go garden!
March 7, 2021
I ordered this on Amazon as digital book and I have enjoyed reading through it. I will read and re-read, lots of good info as well as fun humorous content. I'm glad I bought it and would recommend to anyone interested in this subject.
March 10, 2021
Short and sweet, to the point. This gave good advice and clarified a few things for me, while also being funny at times (the goat head story). I only wish he had talked more about oils/fats but I guess that stuff can go in the "melon pits" along with the rest of the grossest stuff.
November 4, 2015
Short but very informative. Suggestions for composting things others have not recommended such as human waste. Many ideas to becoming a successful home composter.
January 24, 2017
Life changing!
May 21, 2020
Learned a lot
Lots of informational nuggets. And an extremely enjoyable read. I highly recommend this to all the gardeners out there. Fantastic.
Lots of informational nuggets. And an extremely enjoyable read. I highly recommend this to all the gardeners out there. Fantastic.
March 11, 2021
Good ideas most around the idea of composting in some form of a pit. However the is a lot more to it then that. Red the book you'll understand.
July 13, 2021
Sucks about the persistent herbicide.
January 8, 2022
Enjoyable read. Informative and funny.
January 28, 2022
A quick, simple, apparently off the cuff read that makes me want to experiment with vermicomposting for the garden and sheet composting in the orchard.
February 17, 2022
Just what I needed. The right information at the right time.
February 21, 2022
Good stuff
Really enjoyed this. It's an Easy read, lots of humor, very informative. Check out his YouTube for even more good stuff.
Really enjoyed this. It's an Easy read, lots of humor, very informative. Check out his YouTube for even more good stuff.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews