At a glance

■ Jen Snyder will teach a Metro Five-0 class on “Composting Basics” on Feb. 11 at Inniswood Metro Gardens, 940 S. Hempstead Road, Westerville. Participants must be 50 or older. To register, visit https://reservations.metroparks.net. uncoated paper or cardboard (everybody has toilet-paper tubes and shredded newspapers work, too); and sawdust from wood that wasn’t chemically treated.

Greens include coffee grounds, freshly pulled weeds, and fruit and vegetable waste from the kitchen.

In addition, sprinkle in a few handfuls of soil to add beneficial fungi and micro-organisms.

And, she added, “Make sure you keep your pile moist — think of it like a wrung-out sponge.”

A laissez-faire approach works fine, but “your pile will decompose faster if you turn it over,” whether you rotate a drum or toss a free-form heap with a pitchfork.

Shun food wastes such as meat, dairy and oils.

“Those will get stinky and attract pests,” she said.

Other no-no’s include diseased plants, weed seeds and clippings from chemically treated grass.

In about a year, a typical low-maintenance pile will start yielding compost.

You’ll know it’s ready when the particles are small, the color is rich and dark, and the odor is earthy but not overwhelming.