Bottom line on top:
- Composting is easy, great for the planet, and anyone can do it
- Composting is the backbone of any successful organic garden
- There are several different ways to compost so you can choose the method that best suits your needs and lifestyle
What is composting?
Composting simply put is nature's way of recycling. All you're doing is speeding up the process and doing something with the result.
I remember as a kid every once in a while I'd see someone just toss a banana peel or an apple core on the side of the road or someone's lawn. "What's wrong with them?", I'd say to myself, "don't they know you're not supposed to litter?" But then, every time they would say, "oh it's OK, it's biodegradable." Seemed a little suspect to me but we didn't have the internet yet and I wasn't about to read any books to find out whether this was true or not.
Who knew they were actually right? Well not the chucking crap wherever they felt like it part, but the part about how it was going to break down. Bacteria, fungi, worms, and other soil dwelling organisms jump at the chance to eat any organic matter that you won't. I know you're busy so here's the short version:
Who knew they were actually right? Well not the chucking crap wherever they felt like it part, but the part about how it was going to break down. Bacteria, fungi, worms, and other soil dwelling organisms jump at the chance to eat any organic matter that you won't. I know you're busy so here's the short version:
- You save things like kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and leaves
- Dump them all on a bin or pile
- Weird creatures eat it, poop, and what comes out of their backside is the best fertilizer you can possibly get
Why should I compost?
Even if you have no intention to do anything with the finished product there is one great reason to still consider composting - less trash. Check out the following article to learn more about how composting is great for the planet and not just for your garden.
If you do happen to be a gardener you get the added bonus of a magical compound that will become the key to the success of your plants. If not it makes a great lawn fertilizer and could even be used in houseplants. Here's why it's so valuable:
If you do happen to be a gardener you get the added bonus of a magical compound that will become the key to the success of your plants. If not it makes a great lawn fertilizer and could even be used in houseplants. Here's why it's so valuable:
- It provides nutrients that feed your plants. Compost is made of dead plants, but those plants were once living and contained all the elements needed to grow something healthy and strong. Now as they decompose in the soil beneath your plant's roots the nutrients are drawn in, something like you drinking a protein shake after a workout.
- Worms love it. The value of having large amounts of healthy earthworms in your garden can not be overstated. The roots of your plants would not be able to spread as deep or as wide as they do if it were not for worms creating tunnels and loosening the soil. By mixing compost into your garden soil you are creating an environment worms are attracted to and want to stay in.
- Helps regulate moisture. Compost can hold up to 6 times it's weight in water. This means it helps to absorb more water during heavy rain and takes longer to dry out during a drought.
- Improves the quality of soil over time. There is more to dirt than meets the eye. It's full of vitamins and elements that are crucial to plant growth, and they don't appear out of nowhere - they are there from decomposed plant and animal matter. If you continue to plant your flowers and vegetables in the same place year after year but never replenish the nutrients, that obviously will decrease the quality of the soil over time. Adding a steady stream of compost to your garden or flower beds will have the opposite effect.
So what can I compost?
- Any part of a fruit or vegetable you don't eat. Onion peels, watermelon rinds, grape stems - you get the idea. If something in the fridge goes bad - toss the whole thing in. You'll feel 85% less guilty than throwing those last 4 oranges in the trash.
- Coffee grinds - filter is OK too. Right next to the white ones you probably buy today are some brown ones. Switch over to these because they bleach the other ones to make them white.
- Nut shells
- Egg shells
- Shellfish shells
- Tea bags
- Dead house plants (unless diseased)
- Weeds, grass clippings, hedge clippings, leaves
- Manure of plant eating animals - cows, horses, rabbits, chickens
What should I NOT compost?
This section is assuming you are going to be using the compost to grow something you will eat. If that is not the case and you're just composting to reduce waste, all of these items can be composted.
- Diseased plants, including the soil they grew in. The reward is not worth the risk of adding garden diseases to next year's fertilizer.
- Meat, bones, other animal parts and products. Beyond the fact that the animals were probably pumped full of hormones, antibiotics, and whatever else, tossing chicken carcasses into a bin in your yard is a great way to attract skunks and coyotes and get your neighbors to hate you.
- Burnt wood/ashes. Some ashes can be toxic to plants. Others will raise the pH of the soil. If you actually need to raise the pH of your soil, you'd be better off adding the ashes directly vs. composting them
- Too many leaves. Don't just rake your lawn and toss a whole layer of leaves on the compost pile. They will get wet and mat together preventing proper air flow. Some leaves here and there are OK but if you have a lot you should compost them separately in a leaf mold (details below)
- Manure of non-farm/herbivore animals. You definitely do not want to dump the kitty litter in there or anything that didn't come out of an animal eating exclusively plants. Unless you know the animal or farmer personally, it might be a good idea to skip the manure all together. Harmful parasites such as E.coli have been found in cow manure taken from industrial farms.
- Cardboard and other paper products labeled as "compostable". Lots of people will disagree with me here, but honestly this one comes down to trust. Is the ink on the box really made of soy? Was the cardboard treated with some kind of chemical to make it stronger? What about the staples and tape that I miss? For me I'd rather toss cardboard in the recycle bin than the compost.
OK, I'm in. Where do I get a compost bin?
There are several different options and some cites and towns even have their own composting program where they will pick it up like trash or recycling. But if you want to keep yours at home and do it yourself, here are the 3 most practical options:
Option A: Buy one
There are many, many different options for compost bins available. A quick Google search will pull up more options than you'll want to look through in many different price ranges. These are a great option if you plan to do your composting indoors or on the balcony. To be honest we don't use these so I can't recommend one brand or set of features above another. I do know that whatever one you choose, you should really get 2. That way you can leave a full one undisturbed to compost while filling the other one. The town we live in actually offers these at a significant discount through the DPW, so if you're going this route you might want to see if your town does the same.
Option B: Make one
Essentially you're just making a giant box. It doesn't have to be perfect as long as it's sturdy. You also need one of the sides to partially or completely detach so you can get inside and turn it over with a shovel or pitchfork. Many people will make their compost bin out of pallets which are always available for free somewhere (search Craigslist Free section if you don't know anywhere to get them). Just one caveat is that a lot of the heavier duty pallets are made with pressure treated wood which you do not want to use. Otherwise the same chemicals the wood was treated with to prevent rotting are now seeping into your compost and soil. Pressure treated wood is required to be marked as such so you should see a stamp or marking of some kind on the pallet if it is. When in doubt, don't use it.
If you want to be 100% sure, you can buy untreated lumber at Home Depot or wherever else you can buy lumber. Cedar is a great choice because it is naturally rot resistant. I'm sure there are more sophisticated methods out there, but here is all I did:
1) Dug out a square of grass adjacent to the garden
2) Buried a 4"x4" post at each corner 2 feet deep
3) Screwed boards to 3 sides of the box
4) Attached boards to the 4th side using some random picture hanging hardware I happened to have so I can easily remove them
That's pretty much it. Again, you're just building a box, so there's really no wrong way to do it as long as it's strong enough to not burst open when you fill it up. If you have a real issue with animals trying to get in you can build a cover for it but the walls on ours are solid and high enough that we've never had a problem.
If you want to be 100% sure, you can buy untreated lumber at Home Depot or wherever else you can buy lumber. Cedar is a great choice because it is naturally rot resistant. I'm sure there are more sophisticated methods out there, but here is all I did:
1) Dug out a square of grass adjacent to the garden
2) Buried a 4"x4" post at each corner 2 feet deep
3) Screwed boards to 3 sides of the box
4) Attached boards to the 4th side using some random picture hanging hardware I happened to have so I can easily remove them
That's pretty much it. Again, you're just building a box, so there's really no wrong way to do it as long as it's strong enough to not burst open when you fill it up. If you have a real issue with animals trying to get in you can build a cover for it but the walls on ours are solid and high enough that we've never had a problem.
Option C: Dig one
For about 5 years we made our compost in a pit that was inside the garden. It really makes life easier being able to throw all the weeds and parts you prune off the plants right into the pit without having to collect them somewhere to remove later. And all you need to do is dig a hole. How deep and wide is up to you, but whatever dirt and grass you dig out, use that to build a little wall around the perimeter of the hole. This will eventually allow you to pile the compost even higher with the added bonus of preventing you from falling into a ditch when its empty. Keep building your pile over the summer and fall, occasionally turning it over so the stuff on top gets moved to the bottom. By the time you're ready to plant in the spring the pit will be full of ready to use compost. Dig it all out at that point and any throw any big pieces that haven't broken down yet back in.
Depending on your garden setup, you might want to consider rotating the position of the compost pit every season. The bed that gets created over the former compost site is sure to have some very nutrient rich soil. You could really improve the quality of your soil overall after doing this for a few years.
Depending on your garden setup, you might want to consider rotating the position of the compost pit every season. The bed that gets created over the former compost site is sure to have some very nutrient rich soil. You could really improve the quality of your soil overall after doing this for a few years.
Do I need to buy worms or some other gross creatures?
Not if it's on the ground. If you build your pile of banana peels and egg shells the worms, bacteria, and other things that go bump in the night will find their way in to devour the all you can eat buffet you're offering up for free. If you have a purchased bin on a balcony, pavement, or other surface where worms can't make their way in naturally then yes you may need to buy some. They sell them alive in small bags of compost and apparently $20 is the going rate for about 600 of them.
So I just throw rotten vegetables in a pile? That's it?
Pretty much, but like anything else you can always take it to the next level. Entire books have been written on the science of composting and all the various methods. Our suggestions will give you usable compost in about a year but you can make it happen a lot quicker by building what is referred to as a "Hot Pile". This makes composting a lot more scientific where you need to carefully add materials in layers of proper ratios and keep a particular level of moisture and ventilation for it to all work properly.
To be honest we have always just kind of winged it and it works out great. We simply dump a constant stream of kitchen scraps and garden waste into our compost bin all year long. In early spring we turn it over with a shovel and by the time we are ready to plant in April/May it's black gold. We do have 2 piles so once we do that initial flip we like to stop adding to the main pile to let it compost fully. We use it all when planting our garden and start the process over again. So far so good.
To be honest we have always just kind of winged it and it works out great. We simply dump a constant stream of kitchen scraps and garden waste into our compost bin all year long. In early spring we turn it over with a shovel and by the time we are ready to plant in April/May it's black gold. We do have 2 piles so once we do that initial flip we like to stop adding to the main pile to let it compost fully. We use it all when planting our garden and start the process over again. So far so good.
Are you sure it's not a lot of work?
It's really not. All you need to do is keep a plastic container with a lid on your counter top where you typically use your cutting board. If it's right there it's easy to just fill it up anytime you chop vegetables and you'll actually appreciate the convenience of having a place for the scraps as you're cooking. Same goes for your fruit peels, egg shells, and coffee grinds. When the container is full, walk outside and dump it in the pile. That's literally the extent of it. I'm sure if you got creative enough you could even create some kind of pulley system to avoid the walk outside. And you'll be shocked how quickly that plastic container gets filled up (we need 3 at this point) and how often you are making those trips. With every toss you can feel good knowing that much less trash had to be put into a plastic bag and trucked away to a landfill.
Once you get into it, it becomes addicting. I never in a billion years thought I would feel guilty about throwing a few peanut shells in the trash but here we are folks. In our house anything that can be composted, is composted with no exceptions. It may seem obsessive to most but the first time you dig into that pile and see that rich, black pile of dirt and worms that used to be the bag of lettuce that turned brown at the bottom of your vegetable crisper - you'll be hooked just the same.
Once you get into it, it becomes addicting. I never in a billion years thought I would feel guilty about throwing a few peanut shells in the trash but here we are folks. In our house anything that can be composted, is composted with no exceptions. It may seem obsessive to most but the first time you dig into that pile and see that rich, black pile of dirt and worms that used to be the bag of lettuce that turned brown at the bottom of your vegetable crisper - you'll be hooked just the same.
Tips and Tricks
- The key to success is how easy you make it for yourself. Keep the kitchen containers somewhere convenient. Put your main compost bin in your garden or close to the house. You're a lot more likely to give up on it if you have to walk down some dark path in the woods 1/4 mile away every time.
- Create a "long-term" compost pile in tandem with your main one. Unless you have some way of chipping up large, tough items like branches and pineapple tops, toss those into the pile you don't intend to get anything out of for a while. This also gives you a place to dump your compostable items while waiting for the main pile to finish.
- If you have a lot of grass to mow, use it as garden mulch instead of compost. Grass clippings are a huge part of our garden success. Every time we cut the lawn we blanket a freshly weeded garden bed with a thick layer of grass clippings. If applied thick enough they will suppress future weeds and also help control soil moisture. If it rains too much the grass clippings suck up some of the excess water. And when it doesn't rain enough, the thick layer of grass prevents the moisture that is in the soil from evaporating too rapidly.
- If you have a lot of leaves you can create a separate compost pile just for them, which is called a "leaf mold". As we mentioned above, too many leaves matted together in the main compost pile will prevent proper air flow and either delay or degrade the final product, but if kept alone they will eventually break down into a type compost that can also be used directly in the garden or added to the main compost pile. It takes 2-3 years but eventually you can rake the top layer of leaves off and find a pile of what looks like wet cardboard that was allowed to dry out again. Large trees such as oaks have roots that reach deeper into the earth than any other plants, drawing on nutrients that you would otherwise not have access to without an oil drill. You have to rake all those damn leaves every year anyway - might as well get something out of it.
- If you have a lot of pine needles in your yard, use those as mulch instead of in the compost pile. They are very acidic so be careful where you do use them, but they work great under our blueberries and raspberries.
The 4 Keys To Gardening Success
Composting is one of our 4 keys to organic gardening success. Check out the rest of the series: