Learning how to compost at home is an important lesson for the survival of our planet.
Composting is a natural process of recycling organic material, such as leaves and food scraps, into a rich soil amendment or humus known as compost. Learn how to compost at home to turn your food scraps and other compostable materials into compost with this easy guide to backyard composting. Composting at home can help reduce waste, cut down on methane emissions, enrich the soil for your garden, and more!
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Composting At Home: Composting Basics for Beginners
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What is Composting?
Composting is the process of recycling organic materials, such as leftover food, leaves, and other natural materials, into a rich soil amendment or humus known as compost.
Composting at home is thus the steps we take to convert these organic materials into compost. The process of composting consists of the natural breakdown of these organic materials by microorganisms.
What is Compost?
Compost is a valuable organic fertilizer that you can add to the soil to help plants grow. Making compost is called composting.
Compost is such a healthy, nutrient-rich soil that it appears black. Its rich dark color is the primary reason compost humus is often referred to as “black gold” by gardeners and farmers.
Related: How to Plant Organic Flowers
How is Compost Made?
Compost is created when three basic materials are present; greens, browns, and water. Green materials provide nitrogen, brown materials provide carbon, and water provides the moisture to help break it all down.
The secret to a healthy compost pile is to balance brown carbon-based ingredients and green nitrogen-based ingredients.
In other words, when a combination of yard debris (browns) and kitchen scraps (greens) are layered in a moist environment (water) suitable for decomposition, you can create compost at home!
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What is Compostable?
All organic matter that is compostable. This fact does not mean that it has to be grown organically to be compostable–lol! All it means is that it needs to be organic matter as opposed to inorganic matter. However, there are some organic items that you’ll probably want to keep out of your compost.
As an example, we keep large woody cuttings and branches out of our compost. Likewise, we don’t put unbleached paper in our compost. Although these items are compostable, they take way too long to break down. This is why we choose to keep them out of our compost bin at home.
We like to turn our compost pile often, so we keep items that take too long to break down out of it. This is our personal preference, but please feel free to make your own choice.
I recommend that you also keep meat and dairy out of your compost pile. Although these items will break down, they will attract critters and unwanted pests. Again, a nuisance you won’t want to deal with–trust me!
Green Nitrogen-Rich Compostable Materials List:
- all fruit and vegetable spoils & scraps including peels and rinds (only add organically grown peels and rinds–conventionally grown produce can have pesticides on the peels that you don’t want in your compost.)
- stale bread products, grains & beans
- manuer — cow, horse, chicken, rabbit, or pig
- leaves
- prunings, cuttings (without pesticides)
- flowers
- grass clippings
- houseplants
Brown Carbon-Rich Compostable Materials List
- eggshells (neutral)
- straw
- leaves
- coffee grounds and unbleached coffee filters
- tea bags
- dryer lint (don’t add to compost if you use fabric softeners or dryer sheets)
- shredded newspaper
- cardboard
- clean sawdust
- bark
- pine needles
- unbleached paper
- woodchips
- corn stalks
- chopped up brush
Organic Materials Not Recommended for Composting
- dairy
- meat/fish/poultry scraps
- large woody cuttings and branches
- diseased or insect-ridden plants.
- dog/cat feces
- grease
- oil
- fats
- wood ash
- weed seeds
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Benefits of Composting:
It is essential to inform our children about the circle of life and teach them how to complete it. The future of our planet and food sources depends on it.
Humans and animals are responsible for facilitating the breakdown of foods for plants. Completing this cycle is one of the reasons human beings exist on this planet we call earth.
When organic items go in the trash, it breaks the circle—everything on earth benefits when the cycle is completed through activities such as composting.
Not only are you no longer breaking the circle, but you are also enhancing it by placing ingredients together with other components in such a way as to encourage their breakdown and facilitate the production of beneficial bacterias and fungi.
Did you know that composting can remove over 500 pounds of organic matter from your household waste per year?!
Are you ready for even better news?
Making compost at home can not only help reduce waste by reducing the size of our landfills–but it can also help reduce methane emissions!
Home Composting Can:
- Help reduce the carbon footprint of each household.
- Encourage the breakdown of organic materials and complete the circle of life.
- Reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.
- Enhance the production of beneficial bacterias and fungi in the garden.
- Enrich soil and help reduce disease and pests.
- Lead to a cleaner environment, and, a healthy lawn and garden.
- Help reduce methane emissions, and, the size of our landfills.
Related: Caring for the Earth: 12 Ways to Help Kids Get It
Backyard Composting at Home
Learn how to turn your food scraps and other compostable materials into compost with this easy guide to composting at home!
Adding compost to your yard or garden will help your plants grow bigger and better. In addition, the organic matter in compost helps soil hold on to nutrients and water, benefiting your plants while reducing the risk of pollution.
Make composting a part of your daily routine with this helpful composting guide. Even if you don’t have a garden, you can still compost to help close the circle. The most challenging part of composting is getting started.
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How to Compost at Home
Composting at home is a simple process with suitable materials and a little know-how. The basic steps of backyard composting are listed below and expanded upon in detail in the following sections.
- Collect food scraps and put them in a countertop compost pail, or, under-the-sink bucket.
- Empty compost pail or bucket into compost bin outside.
- Layer in brown organic materials; mix straw or leaves with the food scraps placed in the compost bin.
- Turn and use homemade compost in your garden every spring.
Collect Food Scraps
Collect food scraps and other compostable organic materials in a countertop compost bin or bowl of some kind.
We put our scraps in a Stainless Steel Compost Bin. It looks lovely on our kitchen counter next to the sink, and it has charcoal discs in it to eliminate foul odors.
A few friends and family like to use buckets with lids under their sink as a compost bin, but they can get quite stinky!
Related: Organic Gardening with Kids: How to Plant Tomatoes
Find a Spot for the Compost Heap
The hardest part about composting at home is getting started. However, you may find that you overcome the inertia of composting once you find a spot to put it.
Choose a convenient place for your compost pile. You are more likely to use a compost pile that is close by and easily accessible. A level dry shady spot on the bare earth is ideal. Easy access to a water supply is also desirable. Do not build compost piles against wooden buildings or trees because the wood will eventually decay.
Lay down a layer of straw or leaves to start your compost heap. Straw and leaves will help your compost bin drain and stay aerated.
Your compost pile needs to be large enough to hold heat, but small enough to allow for proper aeration. The pile should be about 3′ wide by 3′ long by 3′ tall (1 cubic yard). Piles larger than 5′ wide or 5′ tall are not recommended because they are too difficult to aerate. You also want to allow enough space to work around the pile.
A Compost Pile or a Compost Bin?
Many people don’t use a compost bin. They have a designated pile that they work. Unless required by local ordinances, containers are not necessary for successful composting. Should you choose to have a bin, many options are available for making or purchasing a compost bin listed below.
We constructed our compost bin out of pallets, T-posts, and wire. It may not be pretty, but it works well for our needs. It has been in use for over five years and is holding up fine. Eventually, the pallets will decay enough to need to replace them, but that day has not come so far.
Our compost bin is designed with two bays. We only keep a front pallet on the current compost pile’s side, while we use the other side for composting tools and gardening supplies.
It’s a good idea to have your composting supplies near your compost. For example, we like to keep straw, a pitchfork and shovel, and a few gardening bins inside the storage bay of our compost bin.
DIY Compost Bins
Directions to a few awesome compost bins are listed below. Click on the creator of each DIY Compost bin to see the full tutorial.
- How to Build a DIY Compost Bin {+Free Plans} | Practically Functional
- 4 Compost Bins You Can Build in One Day (Video) | Tree Hugger
- The Ultimate Compost Bin | Organic Life
- How to Build a Tumbling Composter [great for small yards and apartments.] | WikiHow
Rather Buy than Build a Compost Bin?
Check out the excellent pre-made compost bin options below!
- Geobin Compost Bin
- Yimby Tumbler Composter, Color Black
- Redmon Green Culture 65-Gallon Compost Bin
- Dueling Compost Tumbler
Dump Countertop Pail into Compost Bin Daily
Make it a habit to empty your countertop compost pail, or under the sink compost, every night after dinner, unless you have a large family and need to empty your compost bin after every meal!
Creating the habit of taking out your compost pail every night makes composting just as easy as taking out the trash, but you will feel a whole lot better about where you are putting it.
My husband and daughter take out our compost pail together every evening after dinner. It is an established part of their daily rhythm. They also take out our recycling and the table scraps we have collected for our chickens.
Because most of our waste goes into our recycle bin, compost, and chicken bowl, we only have to empty our trash once a week–and that’s only because it’s trash day! So there is barely anything ever in it!!
In addition to composting and recycling, we have also cut down on the amount of packaged products we consume and instead have favored locally grown and produced food and materials. For more green living tips, hop on over to read caring for the earth: 12 ways to go green!
Layer in Organic Materials
The secret to a healthy compost pile is to maintain a working balance between carbon and nitrogen. This balance makes it essential to have a proper combination of green to brown organic materials in the compost bin.
Remember, compost is created when there are three primary materials present; browns, greens, and water. The green materials provide the nitrogen, while the brown materials provide the carbon, and water provides moisture to help it all break down.
Refer to the compostable materials list above to remind yourself of which compostable items are considered “brown” and which are considered “green.” Most green compostable items are water-based, while browns are usually dry.
Make sure that your compost stays nice and moist. You may also need to add a little water if you notice that your compost bin is too dry.
The idea is to maintain a good balance of browns and greens for carbon and nitrogen balance and moisture. Then, add manure to speed up the process and activate the compost pile.
Avoid adding leaves, straw, grass clippings, or yard debris in thick layers. Thick layers in the compost bin can reduce moisture and aeration and slow the composting process.
Instead, do your best to add layers of browns and greens in equal amounts to your compost bin. When you add kitchen scraps into the compost, bury it under the top layer of compost in the bin and add a handful of leaves or straw for good measure. This creates an excellent reason to keep a shovel or garden pitchfork nearby.
Also, remember that organic materials decompose at different rates. So, for best results, chop large materials into smaller pieces before adding them to your compost pile. Then, dig into the center of your compost pile and mix them in the same way you add table scraps.
When a balanced combination of browns and greens are in your compost bin, you will create compost at home!
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How to Activate Compost
Add chicken manure or another activator to speed up the decomposition and the composting process and activate the compost pile. Common compost activators include manure, comfrey leaves, and grass clippings.
Cover compost
Keep a thin layer of straw or leaves on top to cover your compost pile. This will help retain the heat and moisture that are necessary for compost production. You can also cover your compost with a tarp if desired.
Once a compost pile is established, add new materials by mixing them rather than layers. Mixing or turning the compost pile is key to aerating the composting materials and completing the process.
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How to Turn and Use Compost
Dig into your compost pile to mix it every few weeks with a pitchfork or shovel. This aerates the pile and adds oxygen into the mix for the proper breakdown of ingredients.
As mentioned above, our compost bin has two bays where we have a front pallet only on the side that the current compost pile is in. We keep straw, a pitchfork and shovel, and a few other gardening bins inside the other bay.
When we turn our compost to use it in the garden, we take off the pallet in front of the compost pile and take everything out of the storage side.
The top of the compost pile is less decomposed than the bottom and is not ready to use yet. Shovel the top into the other side of the compost bin to start your new compost pile. Keep shoveling the top layers over until you reach the black humus known as compost.
Next, shovel the compost into a wheelbarrow or garden cart to use in the garden. You can either mix compost into your soil before planting or scoop it onto the soil’s surface where plants are already growing to add nutrients to the earth.
Finally, we re-attach the front pallet to the front of the compost bin, place straw on top, and put all storage items in the empty bay where the old compost pile was. Continue to turn and use compost every 6 to 12 months and repeat as needed.
There is nothing better than fresh black gold in the garden to help your spring plantings!
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Composting at Home with Kids
Completing the circle is a nightly habit for my husband and daughter. It is an established part of their daily rhythm. After dinner, I do the dishes while they take out the recycling and all of our food scraps and spoils from the day.
Use the power of habit to help your family establish a new composting routine. For more green living tips, hop on over to read caring for the earth: 12 ways to go green!
You may also like DIY Projects for Do it Yourself Families.
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE.
Alyssa @ Arts and Crackers says
This is really neat. We aren’t allowed to do this where we live right now, but I’m pinning for when we move!
nell says
I totally get it. I know that some homeowners associations have rules. Glad you are pinning for later 🙂
Heather Gonzalez says
I live where it is cold and snowy about 6 months out of the year. How does that work for composting? Would it still work for us?
nell says
That is a brilliant question, Heather. A question that I wish that I knew more of the answers for!
I’m sure that you can compost where it snows, but I’m not sure about all of the details… because I have never composted where it snows.
Air temperature affects the speed of decomposition so the composting process will slow way down when temperatures drop. However, microbes responsible for the breakdown of organic matter can remain active in the compost pile.
The important thing is to make sure that your pile retains heat or stays warm enough, and that it does not get too wet. Cover it with a tarp and ask your local nursery for any tips they have.
I hope that helps, happy composting!!
Nell