Also, wanted to mention that I’ve got a ton of info on my site about worm composting. Our family has done it for many years and it is so worth it. No turning, no drying out. Just fresh worm castings every few months. And that stuff is expensive at the garden centers. I’m sure we’ve made thousands of dollars worth of it.

A tip for those who think they don’t have time to compost: if you put some effort into your compost pile, you’ll get rewarded sooner, but you’ll still get compost if all you do is let it sit for a year or so. As the saying goes, compost happens. Once you get into the habit of putting kitchen and yard scraps into the pile, you’ll be so pleased with the eventual results. Another tip, if you’re plagued with a weed that you’re trying to eliminate from your yard, it’s best not to put it into your compost unless you are able to keep your compost pile hot enough to kill weed seeds (and good luck with that!).

As for how long you can wait to plant, check out the hardiness zone map and frost dates for your area to use as guidelines. You’ll want to wait until there’s no chance of frost to plant veggies that are delicate, like tomatoes. A general rule of thumb that I’ve heard is wait until Mother’s Day to plant outside, but you’ll want to harden off plants by taking them outside for a bit at a time first.

I just wanted to add another tip. In addition to keeping meat & dairy out of the compost bin, don’t put anything too oily or greasy in your compost. Recycled veggie oil is meant for biodiesel, not compost!