Composting 101: Turning Your Garden Waste into Black Gold
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Composting is one of the easiest, most impactful ways to enrich your garden, reduce household waste, and live in harmony with nature. Whether you’re just beginning your gardening journey or already growing vibrant blooms and vegetables, composting transforms kitchen scraps and yard clippings into what gardeners lovingly call “black gold.”
At Kelowna Woodcraft, we believe in nurturing both nature and tradition. That’s why we create premium handcrafted cedar planter boxes and luxury bird feeders from sustainably sourced British Columbia cedar. By incorporating composting into your outdoor routine, you're not only investing in your garden—but in a more sustainable, beautiful future.
What Is Composting?
Composting is the natural process of breaking down organic matter—think vegetable peels, coffee grounds, and grass clippings—into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. It's nature’s recycling system, and when done right, it produces a dark, crumbly, earthy material that's perfect for feeding your garden.
Whether you're growing herbs in one of our cedar planters or refreshing your landscaping, compost adds essential nutrients, improves soil structure, and retains moisture—especially important during BC's warmer summer months.
Why Composting Matters
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Less Waste – Composting diverts food and yard waste from landfills, where it would otherwise produce harmful methane gas. In fact, food waste makes up nearly 30% of what we throw away
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Healthier Gardens – Compost improves soil health, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, and supports stronger root systems. Whether you’re growing flowers, vegetables, or native plants, compost gives them a natural boost.
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Sustainability in Action – Composting at home complements your choice to support locally made, eco-conscious products like those from Kelowna Woodcraft. It’s another way to live the values of craftsmanship, quality, and environmental care.
How to Start Composting at Home
1. Choose Your Bin
You can start with a store-bought compost bin or build your own. A cedar enclosure blends beautifully with any outdoor space and naturally resists decay—just like our planter boxes.
2. Know What to Compost
Balance greens (wet items like fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grounds, fresh grass) with browns (dry materials like leaves, twigs, shredded paper). Avoid meat, dairy, and anything oily.
3. Keep It Aerated
Turn your compost weekly to introduce oxygen. This speeds up decomposition and keeps the pile from smelling.
4. Be Patient
In a few months, you’ll have rich compost ready to nourish your garden.
For a deeper guide, check out this step-by-step composting tutorial from The University of Maryland
Why Composting Complements Kelowna Woodcraft Products
Our 17"x17" and 33"x17" cedar planter boxes are ideal for compact gardening—and even better when paired with fresh, homemade compost. Handcrafted in British Columbia, these planter boxes embody what composting represents: sustainability, care, and quality that lasts.
We don’t just build products—we craft heirloom pieces that reflect a deep respect for tradition, nature, and the home. Each cut of cedar is hand-selected for beauty and durability, shaped with skill passed down through generations. When you compost, and when you choose locally made, you’re investing in something real. Something meaningful.
Make the Sustainable Choice
In today’s fast-paced world of mass production, choosing handcrafted products and sustainable practices is a quiet but powerful act. Composting might seem small—but it’s a big step toward building a better, greener life. And when paired with Kelowna Woodcraft’s handmade cedar products, your garden becomes more than a space—it becomes a legacy.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
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