A mound of compost with a hoe sticking out and a gardener's boots in the background - Annick Vanderschelden Photography/Getty Images So you've got your compost ready for the next gardening season.

Turning compost piles provides more air to beneficial microbes, helping to speed up the composting process and creating enough heat to kill weed seeds, pests, and pathogens. Aim to turn a hot compost ...

The promise is simple. A small backyard setup is supposed to transform all sorts of kitchen waste into a nutrient-dense compost, a material so prized by gardeners that they gave it the nickname “black ...