yard & garden

Yard waste built the modern composting movement, and most of it is straightforward: leaves are the classic brown, fresh grass the classic green, and together they can run a hot pile all season. The verdicts here turn on biology rather than material — weeds that have gone to seed, plants killed by disease, roots that resprout from fragments, and leaves that carry natural herbicides all need hot-pile heat or a municipal facility to be safe. Size matters too: branches and stalks compost fine in theory but take years unless chipped. This category covers the whole backyard, from grass clippings to Christmas trees, with the temperature and prep details that make the difference.

compost it (26)

Fine in an ordinary pile.

grass clippings yes leaves yes pine needles yes pine cones yes wood chips yes acorns yes bark yes clover yes corn stalks yes dead flowers yes evergreen boughs yes ferns yes hedge trimmings yes houseplants yes lawn mushrooms yes lawn thatch yes maple leaves yes moss yes oak leaves yes potting soil yes pumpkin vines yes rose petals yes rotten wood yes straw yes sunflower stalks yes twigs yes

compost it, with care (33)

Read the catch first.

weeds careful christmas trees careful dandelions careful sawdust careful sod careful apple tree prunings careful bamboo careful bermuda grass careful bindweed careful black walnut hulls careful cactus careful crabgrass careful diseased plants careful eucalyptus leaves careful flower bulbs careful garden soil careful hay careful ivy careful magnolia leaves careful morning glory careful mulch careful palm fronds careful peat moss careful potato plants careful raspberry canes careful root balls careful rose prunings careful succulents careful sweet gum balls careful thistle careful tomato plants careful tree branches careful weeds with seeds careful

keep it out (1)

Every page says what to do instead.

japanese knotweed no