Home Composting & Yard Care

​​​​​​Finding a composting system that works best for your household will depend on:

• the space you have
• what you want to compost
• how much material you want to compost
• your enthusiasm and interest in managing and harvesting compost

The Compost Education Centre in Victoria has some very informative factsheets different systems: 

• Backyard Composting is a favourite for many gardeners looking to turn their kitchen scraps and yard trimmings into “brown gold” to improve garden soil and plant health. Having access to a good carbon source such as fallen leaves is important to prevent odors and pests that would occur just from adding food scraps.
• Vermicomposting is great for condo or apartment dwellers who do not have a lot of space and provides one of the best sources of nutrition for plants.
• Backyard Food Waste Digesters are the easiest way to compost food scraps and for those not interested in harvesting compost.
• Trench Composting is handy for those with some space in their yard for digging a wider variety of food scraps at least 45cm into the soil. Remember to call before you dig: www.bconecall.bc.ca.
• Leaves are useful to prevent odours and balance nutrients in backyard composters. They can also be a useful seasonal cover for garden beds and insulate plants from extreme temperatures. if storing or mulching leaves on your property, consider non-combustible perimeters and other important measures with the FireSmart Yard & Landscaping Guide. Bokashi and vermicomposting are effective alternatives for composting food scraps if you would rather compost without leaves.
• Compost Ecology is helpful to understand to create optimum conditions for compost organisms that will recycle organic waste into nutrient rich compost for our gardens.
• Tumbler Composters allow for easy compost turning which helps incorporate air into compost and speed up the decomposition process.
• Bokashi is a fast and convenient way to process all of your food scraps. It involves processing food scraps in airtight containers and using beneficial microbes to ferment food waste. Once fermented, the food waste can be dug into garden beds or compost bins where it will readily break down into the soil. This method is very pest resistant and is great for those with limited space.   

Get started with our Composter Rebate Form!

Some retailers in the area that sell home composting systems include:

Shepherd's Home Hardware Building Centre - Armstrong

Central Hardware Timber Mart - Enderby

ACE Building Centre - Lumby

Briteland Holdings Ltd - Vernon

Fishers Hardware Ltd - Vernon

Swan Lake Nurseryland - Vernon

Rona Home Centre - Vernon

Canadian Tire - Vernon

Home Building Centre – Vernon

Home Depot – Vernon