Composting Articles

Article / Updated 03-31-2022

The best and most refined of organic matters is compost, which is organic matter and/or manures that have decomposed until they resemble loamy soil. Thoroughly decomposed compost contains lots of humus — the beneficial, soil-improving material your plants need. Whether the original source was grass clippings, sawdust, animal manure, or vegetable scraps from your kitchen, all organic matter eventually becomes compost. Making your own compost is probably the simplest way to ensure high quality compost and save some money. It's really not as complicated as you may think: The many commercial composting bins and containers on the market make it a mess-free and hassle-free process. A well-constructed compost pile — built with the proper dimensions and maintained correctly — heats up fast; decomposes uniformly and quickly; kills many diseases, insects, and weed seeds; doesn't smell; and is easy to turn and maintain. Conversely, a pile just thrown together rarely heats up and, therefore, takes longer to decompose. This type of cold composting doesn't kill any diseases, insects, or weed seeds; may smell bad; and definitely looks messy. Containing your compost pile makes it look neater, helps you maintain the correct moisture, and prevents animals from getting into it. You can build your own, as shown in Figure 1, or buy a commercial home composting unit. Figure 1: Build a simple wooden bin to hold your compost pile. The advantages of a commercial composter include the availability of a wide range of attractive sizes and shapes and ease of use. Choose from box-shaped plastic and wooden bins and barrels or elevated and easy-to-turn tumblers, as shown in Figure 2. Store-bought bins are costly, however, and produce only small quantities of compost at a time, especially compared to a homemade bin that's built from scrap lumber or wire. Figure 2: Commercial composters help you make compost yourself. How to build a good compost pile Here's how you build a good compost pile: Choose a shady location. Make it out of the way, but still within view so that you don't forget about the pile. The soil under it should be well drained. Make a bin. Create a wire cylinder that's 3- to 4-feet in diameter or build a three-sided box (similar to the one in Figure 1), that's 4 to 5-feet high and wide. Add brown materials. Add a 6-inch layer of "brown" organic matter — such as hay, straw, old leaves, and sawdust — to the bottom of the container. Add green materials. Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of "green" organic matter, such as green grass clippings, manure, table scraps, or even high-nitrogen fertilizer, such as cottonseed meal, on top of the brown layer. Repeat these layers. Water each layer as you go, until the pile is 4 to 5-feet tall and fills the bin. A smaller pile won't heat up well and a larger pile can be difficult to manage. Within two days, mix the layers together thoroughly. Particle size should be varied, smaller particles hasten decomposition. Cover the pile with a tarp. This keeps rain away and preserves moisture. If the pile gets too soggy or too dry, it won't heat up. What to add, and what not to add Not all organic matter is good for the compost pile. Following, is a look at what to add to a pile, including ratios, and what not to add. What to add to the pile or composter What you put in the compost pile is up to you — just remember that it needs to be from an organic material. Here's a short list of possibilities: Hay, straw, pine needles Leaves Kitchen scraps (egg shells, old bread, vegetable and fruit scraps) Animal manure, except for dog, cat, pig, or human Old vegetables, flowers, or trimmings from trees and shrubs Sawdust Wood chips Weeds Shredded black-and-white newspaper. (In the past, color printing used heavy metals in the ink. Most color printing now uses soy-based inks, but it's better to avoid them in the garden altogether to be on the safe side.) What not to add Some items don't belong in your compost pile. While hot compost piles can kill off many diseases, weed seeds, and insects, it's not a sure thing, and some of these unpleasant guests may survive to invade your garden again. Certain materials can also invite unwanted wildlife to the pile or spread human diseases. Avoid adding the following to your compost bin: Kitchen scraps like meats, oils, fish, dairy products, and bones. They attract unwanted animals, such as rats and raccoons, to the pile. Weeds that have gone to seed or that spread by their roots, such as quackgrass Diseased or insect-infested vegetable or flower plants Herbicide-treated grass clippings or weeds Dog, cat, or pig feces Ratios for adding materials to the compost pile In composting corners, you often hear about the carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio. Basically, all organic matter can be divided into carbon-rich (brown stuff) and nitrogen-rich (green stuff) materials. Using the right mixture of brown to green stuff when building a compost pile encourages the pile to heat up and decompose efficiently. Although nearly any combination of organic materials eventually decomposes, for the fastest and most efficient compost pile in town, strike the correct balance (C/N ratio) between the two types of material — usually 25 to 1 (that is, 25 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen). Table 1 shows which common compost materials are high in carbon and which materials are high in nitrogen. Notice that the softer materials, such as fresh grass clippings, tend to be higher in nitrogen than hard materials, such as sawdust. Mix these together to form a pile with an average C/N ratio of 25-to-1 to 30-to-1, and you'll be well on your way to beautiful compost. Use the following carbon/nitrogen ratios as guidelines. Actual ratios vary depending on the sources of the materials and other factors. And speaking of sources — be sure that your compost materials haven't been contaminated with pesticides or other chemicals. Material and C/N Ratio Table scraps, 15:1 Grass clippings, 19:1 Old manure, 20:1 Fresh alfalfa hay, 12:1 Fruit waste, 25:1 Corn stalks, 60:1 Old leaves, 80:1 Straw, 80:1 Paper, 170:1 Sawdust, 500:1 Wood, 700:1 Quick and easy compost recipes To make the most compost in the shortest amount of time, try some of these proven recipes. For each recipe, mix the ingredients thoroughly and follow the directions in the next section. Depending on weather and compost ingredients, you should have ready-to-use compost within one to two months. Recipe #1: Four parts kitchen scraps from fruits and vegetables, 2 parts chicken or cow manure, 1 part shredded newspaper (black ink only), and 1 part shredded dry leaves. Recipe #2: Two parts kitchen scraps, 1 part chicken manure, and 1 part shredded leaves. Recipe #3: Two parts grass clippings, 1 part chicken manure, and 1 part shredded leaves. Keeping your compost pile happy A hot pile is a happy pile. If you follow the method of just throwing everything together, the pile will rarely heat up. If you follow the method of building the pile carefully with a balanced C/N ratio, the pile will start to cook within a week. Now you need to keep it cooking. Here's the procedure: Keep the pile moist by periodically watering it. Dig into the pile about 1 foot to see if it's moist. If not, water the pile thoroughly, but not so that it's soggy. The pile needs air, too, and adding too much water removes air spaces. If you built the pile with moist ingredients, such as kitchen scraps, it won't need watering at first. Turn the pile when it cools down. Using a garden fork, remove the outside layers and put them aside. Remove the inside layers into another pile and then switch. Place the outside layers in the center of the new pile and the inside layers along the outside of the new pile. Let it cook again. How hot it gets and how long it cooks depends on the ratio of C/N materials in the pile and whether you have the correct moisture levels. When it's cool, turn it again. You should have finished compost after two to three turnings. The finished product should be cool, crumbly, dark colored, and earthy smelling. Sometimes, a compost pile never heats up, smells bad, or contains pieces of undecomposed materials. Chances are that one of the following conditions occurred: The pile was too wet or dry. You added too many carbon materials and not enough nitrogen materials. The pieces of material were too big or packed together. Shred leaves, branches, and pieces of wood to decompose more quickly. The pile was too small. You can find lots of compost aids on the market. Bioactivators — packages of concentrated microbes — are one of the most popular because they can speed the decomposition process. These microbes occur naturally, however, and many are already present in a well-constructed compost pile. Save your money and use microbe-rich compost materials instead.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-01-2022

By composting food scraps, yard waste, and other ingredients, you create nutrient-rich compost to add to your garden and landscape, and you minimize the waste sent to landfills. Home composting is a great way to be greener and do something good for the environment while seeing major benefits right at home.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Organic matter high in carbon — what composters commonly call browns — provides energy for decomposer organisms as they consume and break down the contents of your compost pile. Organic matter high in nitrogen — called greens — supplies the decomposers with protein. Maintain well-fed composting organisms with these varied ingredients. BrownsGreens Dry leaves Kitchen scraps Woody plant trimmings Coffee grounds and filters Straw Leafy plant trimmings Pine needles Grass clippings Sawdust Manure Paper products Feathers, fur, and hair

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Composting provides you with rich organic matter that does wonders to improve the quality of your garden soil. Whether you sprinkle compost on the surface of the soil or work it in, your garden plants and landscape will grow healthier and stronger thanks to the addition. Your garden benefits from compost in the following ways: Incorporates organic matter to feed microorganisms and macroorganisms that maintain a healthy soil food web Enriches soil with nutrients for plant growth Releases nutrients slowly so they don’t leach away as some synthetic fertilizers do Improves soil structure Promotes drainage and aeration in clay soil Enhances moisture and nutrient retention in sandy soil Reduces soil compaction Inhibits erosion Suppresses soil-borne diseases and pests Attracts earthworms, nature’s best soil builders

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

A great thing about composting is that it can take as much or as little time as you want or need it to. If your time is limited and you want to speed up the process to get compost fast, follow these tips: Increase the surface area of your ingredients. Before adding it to your compost, chop, shred, crack, whack, and smack organic matter into small pieces. (It’s a good stress reliever!) Your effort increases total surface area and creates open wounds in the materials, allowing soil organisms easy access to begin consuming and breaking them down. Take the damp sponge test. Starting a compost pile with too-dry ingredients or allowing ingredients to dry out without remoistening is a direct route to slow decomposition. Fast-acting compost piles contain about 40 to 60 percent water. Squeeze handfuls of compost from various sections of the pile to check its moisture level. Everything should feel like a wrung-out sponge. Turn and rewet materials as needed to maintain this level of moisture. Air it out. Soil organisms require oxygen just as you do. When air supplies are depleted, the organisms die without reproducing in sufficient numbers to keep decomposition zipping along. Keep the little critters in your compost pile well-supplied with oxygen by turning the pile completely every week or two (or three). If your time is limited, stick a compost fork or aerating tool into the pile to stir things up. This action doesn’t generate as much oxygen throughout the pile as a total turnover, but it does an acceptable job and only takes a minute or two.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Your compost pile isn’t a trash can. Some materials definitely don’t qualify as compost ingredients because they contain pathogens, attract pests, or cause other problems. You must take care to add only the right organic ingredients to feed the decomposition process. Leave out the following items: Ashes from charcoal barbecues: Dispose of this residue in the trash, not your compost pile or bin. It contains sulfur oxides and other chemicals you don’t want to incorporate into your compost. Ashes from fireplaces or wood stoves: Small amounts of ash (a few handfuls per pile) are okay if you have acidic soil. Never use wood ashes if your soil is alkaline, however, because the ash increases alkalinity. Disease- or insect-infested plant material: Pathogens and pests can survive the composting process if the heap doesn’t get hot enough. Just leave this material out — better safe than sorry! Meat, bones, grease, fats, oils, or dairy products: This kitchen waste may turn rancid and attract rodents and other pests. Waste: Feces from cats (including soiled litter), dogs, birds, pigs, and humans may contain harmful pathogens that aren’t killed during decomposition. Weeds with seed heads: Toss the leafy foliage into your compost as a source of green nitrogen, but send weed seeds to the trash. If seeds survive the decomposition process, they’ll sprout wherever you spread finished compost.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

You need very little equipment to start composting. Before you buy, visit garden centers or home improvement and hardware stores and try out some hand tools. Their length and weight should be comfortable for you to wield over extended periods of turning or shoveling organic matter. The basic tools to get you started composting are Compost fork or pitchfork: Long, thin tines allow you to hoist and toss large loads of organic matter efficiently. Shovel or spade: These tools help you turn almost-finished compost or incorporate finished compost into your garden. If you already own either one, you’re set. Hose and spray nozzle: Moisture is an essential component of a fast-acting compost pile. Your hose should reach easily from the outdoor faucet to your compost area. Add an adjustable nozzle that allows you to fine-tune the spray level, and turn it off to conserve water while you’re adding or mixing organic matter.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

All the tools you really need to start composting are a long-handled fork, a spade or shovel, and something with which to chop up larger stems and prunings. But like most jobs in the garden, having the right tools for the task makes it a whole lot easier. Here's a list of the best tools for basic composting tasks: Mixing things up with a pitchfork or compost fork: Pitchforks and compost forks have four or five long, thin, tapered, and upward-curving tines designed to efficiently glide into a pile of organic material, allowing you to hoist and pitch it to a new location. These forks are perfect for moving large clumps of bulky, lightweight organic matter, such as hay, straw, leaves, and plant trimmings. Use them to build new compost piles and turn them until the organic matter is fairly decomposed. Digging in with a soil fork: A soil fork is useful for turning almost-finished compost or digging heavy finished compost from the pile and incorporating it into garden beds. Digging and moving dirt with shovels and spades: Generally, a shovel is a tool designed for moving material, with a raised lip on each side of the blade to stop bits from falling off. A spade has a sharp, straight head and is used for digging. Shovels and spades are available in various styles, with slight variations to enhance specific gardening tasks, such as trenching for irrigation lines, edging lawns, or transplanting perennials: Rounded-blade shovel: A rounded-blade shovel serves as an all-purpose tool for gardening tasks such as turning almost-finished compost, shoveling finished compost from a bin, incorporating compost into garden beds, and digging transplant holes in already-loose, sandy, or loamy soils. Pointed-blade shovel: A pointed-blade shovel is the most versatile choice if you buy only one digging implement. It performs the same chores as the rounded-blade shovel, while also allowing easier digging into compacted clay soils. The pointed blade is useful for chopping up organic matter into smaller pieces before tossing it into the compost pile. Keeping things moist with a good-quality hose: In composting, easy access to water is important because moisture is an essential component of a successful composting effort. A cheap hose will plague you forever, kinking, cracking, and refusing to coil easily until you finally give up and buy a better one. Splurge on a good-quality hose at the outset and add a nozzle that allows you to turn the flow on and off. Moving compost in buckets or tarps: Compost transport around the garden can be as thrifty and low-tech as a heavy-duty plastic builder's bucket or a tarp. A bucket is ideal for moving small quantities of compost. Hauling compost with wheelbarrows or garden carts: If you generate a lot of compost and have a big yard with lots of plants and planting areas to haul your lovely compost to, a wheelbarrow or garden cart is an asset. They come in all sizes, shapes, and weights.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Although a simple compost pile will certainly give you nice, rich organic matter for your garden and keep your food waste out of landfills, it isn't always the best option. In some situations, it makes more sense to compost in a container. Acceptable landscape aesthetics vary widely by individual, neighborhood, and community standards. If you're fortunate to live where local government encourages home composting to reduce solid waste sent to landfills, you may be surrounded by supportive neighbors who also compost. On the other hand, you may be surrounded by those who are less enthusiastic and don't want to see your mounds of organic matter from their backyard or windows. Using containers that hide organic matter with fully enclosed sides or containers that you can tuck discretely into out-of-view locations forestalls potential complaints. Other good reasons to employ containers in your composting efforts include the following: Containers keep your stockpiles of dried materials, such as leaves, straw, and sawdust, under control until you need them. Without some type of holding unit, your carefully collected ingredients might end up scattered around the yard the next time a mighty wind blows through. Keeping kitchen scraps in and pests out is another important benefit offered by containers that are completely enclosed and feature secure lids.. When it comes to efficient composting, maintaining the overall size and shape of your original pile of ingredients is easier within the confines of containers. When compost materials have sufficient mass (at least 1 cubic yard), they're better able to self-insulate to maintain consistent moisture levels and higher temperatures, conditions that speed decomposition. Fully enclosed bins help organic matter retain moisture, a characteristic that's useful if you live in an arid climate. Decomposition slows down when the compost pile dries out. If you live in a rainy climate, enclosed bins keep heavy rains from soaking organic matter. Wet piles turn anaerobic and smelly. Some bins offer insulating qualities that help increase and maintain higher temperatures inside.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Because there are so many types of composters on the market, finding the right one for you can be tricky. Compost containers (despite some of the marketing materials that accompany them) aren't magical devices whereby you drop in straw, wave your wand-like compost thermometer, and presto — out spills black gold! The basic needs of decomposer organisms must still be met, including an appropriate mix of carbon and nitrogen materials chopped into small pieces, moisture and aeration during the process, and sufficient mass to build up and retain temperature levels. Your efforts in meeting these requirements favor the types of mesophilic and thermophilic organisms that do the bulk of the composting work. Considering these options when choosing a container: Size: Keep in mind that a container's size is often the limiting factor in its ability to produce compost quickly. If the container holds less than 1 cubic yard (1 cubic meter) of materials (the minimum size for efficient decomposition), you can still work with it. But you need to manage the contents, air, moisture, and temperature more regularly if you want speedy compost, just as you would with a freestanding pile or homemade bin. If you're in no hurry and just want a tidy receptacle to contain a relatively small amount of organic leftovers, then container size is not as important a factor. Weight: If it's a tumbler, you want to be able to easily rotate it when it's full of heavy, wet organic matter. If it's not a tumbler, and you use just one container, it's nice to be able to lift it up and off the organic matter to set it aside for turning or reloading. Height: Make sure you can easily lift your pitchfork or shovel loaded with organic materials into the container. It's typically less fatiguing to rest your pitchfork or shovel on the side of the container as you empty it, rather than to hoist it upwards above shoulder level. Assembly required: Most bins require some assembly. Connectors such as screws or bolts usually hold up longer than plastic tabs that crack or break after a season or two in extreme weather. Look for sturdy, rigid construction at joints. Loose connections can come apart and cause the container to collapse when you're poking around in the bin. Lids: Look for sufficiently large top openings to add fresh organic matter. Will your loaded-up pitchfork or shovel fit with room to spare? Or do you need to use your hands to stuff materials in? Pest deterrents: Lids should tighten securely to protect against enterprising pests and strong winds. At the same time, you want to be able to lift lids to add more organic matter without a lot of fuss. Access panels: Some units offer sliding trap doors at the bottom to provide access to the finished compost. Check the dimensions to see whether your spade will fit inside. Otherwise, you'll need to scoop compost out by hand or use a hand trowel. Aeration and drainage holes: Air and water are important ingredients in composting. If bins are fully enclosed, there must be some method for allowing air in and moisture out. Without drainage, the contents of the container turn wet and stinky and the decomposition process slows.