How to Home Compost
Composting is a great way to divert biodegradable waste from the landfill. Even if you have a municipal compost system, you can home compost a large portion of biodegradable items to build healthy soil. Your garden (and planet earth) will show it’s appreciation by growing nutrient-dense food!
Let’s breakdown home composting.
A lot of people are intimidated by composting, but none of these methods need to be complicated. Newsflash — everything eventually decomposes! So you really can’t go wrong with any compost method, but there are pros and cons to each one, and depending on your household and garden size, we can help you select and set up the best system for you.
VERMICOMPOST
Using worms to help break down your food waste is:
• perfect for small urban gardens
• quick and low maintenance
• use the castings whenever
• easily applies to the garden
COLD COMPOST
Making a cold compost pile or using a store bought bin is:
• ideal for medium-large spaces
• a slow and steady process
• can use turning and/or aeration to speed process
THERMOPHILIC
Using biology to naturally heat a compost pile is:
• best for gardens with access to animal manure and a larger area
• faster process to finished compost
• requires turning and/or aeration
AT HOME COMPOST TIPS:
To achieve the best carbon-to-nitrogen ratio in your home compost, a rule of thumb is to put in two to four parts brown materials for every one part green materials.
Layer greens and browns as you go. Add water to each layer
Chopping up material allows more surface area exposed to the elements for faster decomposition.
Your Nose Knows! Trust your nose, if the pile starts to smell like death you probably need to add carbon/dried material, or you need to turn it, OR both.
Store leaves or other carbon sources in a bin near the bin, after adding kitchen scraps, top it with a few handfuls of carbon, it will keep the critters out and odors down.
A larger mass of materials heats up and becomes “thermophilic”. This increases the speed of composting. Try collecting large amounts of materials from neighbors to make a large thermophilic compost pile.
Layer 2-4 parts “brown” (like dead leaves, branches, twigs, & paper)
to 1 part “green” (like fresh grass clippings, food scraps, & coffee )
GREAT FOR HOME COMPOST:
fruit or vegetables scraps
grains
coffee grounds
paper coffee filters
tree-based tea bags (staples removed)
flowers
egg shells
yard waste
grass
leaves
prunings, shrubs & tree twigs less than 6” diameter
saw dust (no black walnut or particle board)
minimal garlic scraps
minimal citrus scraps
poultry, horse, cow or rabbit manure
NOTE: Pet litter and pet feces of any animal that eats meat must go to landfill
SEND IT TO MUNICIPAL COMPOST:
oil
meat & bones
bread & pasta
cheese & dairy products
paper-based tissues, napkins or paper towels
paper coffee cups
waxed paper cups, containers, card board
food-soiled waxed paper or newspaper
pizza boxes or take-out paper cartons (metal removed)
wooden chopsticks or popsicle sticks
wine corks
house plants & cactus cuttings
branches up to 6" in diameter
holiday trees (unflocked)
weeds or diseased plants
wood (uncoated, untreated)
If you want help setting up a composting system that works for your specific garden needs, or if you are interested in compost coaching — schedule a consultation.