Compost this book! : the art of composting for your yard, your community, and the planet

by Tom Christopher, Marty Asher

Inspirational, funny, and practical, this book provides a somewhat unconventional look at the world of composting, from the large problems of solid waste disposal to the how-tos of turning potato peels and dryer lint into food for your garden. Compost is a miracle waiting to happen. It can: eliminate thirty to sixty percent of your solid waste; protect your garden against drought; protect your family from lead poisoning; save you money. This is a book that will change your garden and your life.

Genres: Gardening

248 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 1994

Reviews

[Sharon Reamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. My least favourite of the Asher-Christopher trilogy that includes 'The 20-minute Gardener' and 'The 20-Minute Vegetable Gardener'. Mostly my lack of enthusiasm stems from a couple of things. 1) quite a bit of the statistical and research information, which takes up nearly all of the first half of the book, is outdated by around two decades. 2) the real useful stuff, i.e., 'how to compost', doesn't start until page 120 or so. There is a somewhat tedious discussion about types of composters that is also somewhat dated as well. The actual info about composting is good. Then I had a facepalm moment when the authors suggested using the finished product (the compost) on the lawn. The lawn. Not the flower beds or the containers on the balcony\patio or raised beds or other veg installations. Sheesh. So having read this book twice now, I'm taking the authors' suggestion/title seriously. Into the compost it goes!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dated in it's references, however the art of composting remains the same. This book is not just a how to, in fact it dedicates only a few chapters to the actual logistics. The history of composting (who knew that soil depletion was integral to the cause of the Civil War?), and the environmental and political arguments for community composting are equally presented. Snippets of knowledge for efficient composting are scattered throughout all chapters of the book however, so I recommend NOT skipping these chapters. Inspirational!

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Compost This Book!" is a Sierra Club book that tells you most everything you'd want to know about composting. For those who want to see more statistics and discussion of the biological agents at work, this is *not* academic enough for that, but it's detailed, convincing, and is easy to read because of its witty, conversational prose.

You can probably find it at your library. Call # at mine was 631.875C, pub'd 1994.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok, so this is a book about composting but I liked it. It taught me everything I needed to know about composting.

[Jeff Youngstrom]

(May 20, 1996)