The Happy Garden Guide to Composting
One simple practice gives you a huge advantage as a gardener.
Caring for your plants is important.
But caring for your soil is critical.
Compost is the best way I know to feed and nurture your soil.
If you garden, you need compost. But it can be expensive to buy a truckload every year and inconvenient to haul bags home each time you want to start a new garden bed.
Why not make it yourself? Your kitchen and yard waste will provide the raw materials you need to transform "trash" into treasure.
The Happy Garden Guide to Composting will show you how.
- Discover our quick start approach and be ready to compost within a few hours
- Find the perfect location for your bin
- Choose a method that fits your yard and lifestyle
- Learn what you can compost and what items you should NEVER add
- Dig into the science behind the transformation with straightforward explanations
- Meet the magnificent microbes and incredible insects
- Find four ways to get compost faster
- Get your family and community involved
- Deepen your understanding through our resources and bonus materials
Who is this guide for?
- Aspiring gardeners who want healthy soil
- Gardeners who don’t want to buy compost
- Cooks who want to stop tossing kitchen scraps
- People who hate stinky garbage cans
- Moms and dads who want a solution for "toddler leftovers"
- Homeowners who are tired of hauling leaves to the curb every fall
- Kids who are curious about nature
- Families who want to “go green”
What Readers Are Saying
Would Definitely Recommend This Book
"I like how the quick start overview provides the essential information and leaves it up to the reader to delve deeper, or not! I would definitely recommend this book to others either as a beginner's tool or as a library resource for a more experienced gardener."
- Richard, who grows in a community garden
for the freshest and best-tasting food
South Jordan, Utah
Incredible Wealth of Information
"There is an incredible wealth of information presented in a very accessible way. This book would be great for anyone just starting out in gardening and composting, but also contains useful information for people with more experience. I also love the resources that Amy includes."
- Valeria, who is a gardener and
composter of 40+ years
Atlanta, Georgia
What’s Included with The Happy Garden Guide to Composting?
Digital Book
- 100 pages of action steps, colorful photography, and fun infographics
- Delivered as a PDF, an easily searchable format that works across platforms on computers, tablets, and smart phones
- Designed for easy reading on screen and convenient printing on letter-sized paper
Quick Start Video Course
Watch our three-part video series about composting basics any time you want in a user-friendly course format.
Online Bonus Area
As a book owner, you get access to a special bonus area in our online garden school. Here are some of the bonuses you'll find there:
- How to Create a No-Fuss Compost Bin (Wire Bin Tutorial)
- DIY Worm Bin Tutorial
- How to Start a Garden Without Digging (Sheet Mulching Tutorial)
- Printable Infographics from the E-book
- So You Want to Compost
- The Ins & Outs of Compost
- Characteristics of Potential Compost Ingredients
- Common Compost Problems & Solutions
- A Simple Compost Sifter Tutorial
- Kids' Activities
Gardens That Matter Online Community
Choose from Basic or Premium All-Access Membership and get access to an ad-free, algorithm-free space where you can get support and inspiration. Meet like-minded gardeners who are also composting and growing food and flowers in sustainable ways. Go Premium to get our full library of classes and workshops, regular virtual meetups, speaker workshops, and much more!
This Book Really Explained It Well!
I'm a visual person and I loved the way it included pictures. Showing us what the bugs look like was great! I also liked the charts and the section on what to compost and what not to compost. It's so confusing at times knowing what to do. This book really explained it well!
- Pat, who gardens and composts with her family
Charlotte, North Carolina
Inspired to Take Our System Up a Notch!
The infographics are AWESOME! I also liked the quick start section. Sometimes when you're excited about something you want to START NOW, so this is great feature. The book was motivating to me and inspired me to take our own composting system up a notch!
- Amylee, who gardens, cooks, blogs, and more
Albuquerque, New Mexico
ProductiveMama.com
Who am I and why should you compost with me?
I'm Amy Landers, co-founder of Gardens That Matter. I'm glad you're here reading about our new e-book!
I’ve been making compost to use in my garden for more than 25 years. It all started with my 8th grade science fair project, “The Backyard Breakdown.” Just look at these layers!
At the center of the pile, I placed screen packets holding bread, leaves, fabric, and other materials. I asked, “What will decompose the fastest?” and checked to see a few weeks later. As you might guess, the bread won.
The experiment has continued informally ever since. I continue to be amazed by the transformation happening in my compost piles. Today, my whole family helps with composting and gardening.
Composting plays a key role in making our garden happy and our home sustainable.
I’m excited to share the process with you and your family!
High-quality compost is expensive to buy.
When you make it yourself, it's almost free. Your first bin could yield about 9 cubic feet of compost. Buying that much high-quality compost by the bag could cost upwards of $135!
Wouldn't you rather make it yourself?
Digital Book with Basic Membership
- 100 page colorful digital book (PDF)
- Easy to read on any device or print on standard paper
- Quick Start to Composting Class
- Book Owner's Bonus Area
- Basic Membership in the Gardens That Matter community
All-Access Membership
- Everything in the Digital Basic plan AND...
- Access to full library of classes and webinars on sustainable gardening
- Weekly virtual meetups with Amy to ask questions and connect
- Encouragement and ideas from a community of like-minded gardeners
- Ad-free, algorithm-free online space
- Ongoing support and guidance as you apply what you learn!
- Choose an annual subscription and get 2 months free!
Payments are processed securely through Stripe and our Mighty Networks platform.
Want to see a sample?
I'd love to send you an excerpt with the first 14 pages of the book, including the Table of Contents, Quick Start Guide, and an introduction to healthy soil and composting.
Questions & Answers About the Book
Good-As-Black-Gold Guarantee
The Happy Garden Guide to Composting comes with a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee. We promise to show you how to transform your kitchen and yard "trash" into treasure for your garden. We are confident our book and multi-media content can help you create healthy soil and a happy garden.
In fact, if you aren't satisfied, you can simply send us an email requesting a refund. We'll make arrangements immediately.