How to Start Composting
I love composting! Is that weird? It probably is a little strange... but it's just that it is such an EASY way to turn common scraps and leftover foods into organic nutrients for my garden!
Like any family we have a lot of fruits and vegetables that I have the best intentions of using and eating all week long, but then life happens and plans change all of the time. A couple of days later I open the vegetable drawer and the salad has already turned brown and there's fuzzy white mold growing on my green beans. Not only was I feeling guilty enough about not eating said fruits and veggies, but then I felt worse throwing them in the garbage knowing they would have limited chance to decompose into new soil at the landfill.
I realized that I wanted to make a change and as I've talked about with my pollinator garden, I wanted to also do something much more environmentally friendly. This led us to start composting. We have been composting for about two years now, and have definitely learned a lot about it. We recently added a whole bin of compost to our new raised garden beds, so they will be off to a great start! Below I've shared a little beginners guide (based on our experiences) to help anyone looking to start composting.
A little about composting...
What exactly is Composting?
Composting is taking common household items that would be thrown away and instead putting them in a compost bin or area outdoors to decompose quickly with the help of organisms. When these items decompose they turn into nutrient rich organic matter that looks just like really good garden soil. Compost is ideal to add to gardens because it provides plants with lots of nutrients and helps them to grow.
Benefits of composting...
There are a bunch of benefits to composting, including:
- Items that can be composted make up a HUGE portion of what people throw away and ends up in landfills. By composting those items instead it keeps that load from landfills.
- Composting creates amazing organic matter to add to the soil in gardens, potted plants, flower beds, etc. Plants will thrive with all of the extra nutrients and better water retention; plus it can also help prevent some diseases.
- With all of those naturally produced nutrients you are providing to plants you will be able to reduce use of chemical fertilizers. This will save time and money.
What can you compost?
It is really important to understand what can and cannot be composted. There are some items that seem like they should be able to be added to the compost bin but could actually really hurt the entire process or final product. Make sure to really do your research before adding something to the compost that you are unsure about!
Items that CAN be composted:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Egg shells
- Grass and yard clippings
- Leaves
- Sawdust and wood chips (untreated lumber only)
- Shredded paper or newspaper
- Hay and straw
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Tea bags
- Nut shells
- Fireplace/Wood Ash
Items that CANNOT be composted:
- Meat and bones/ Grease or Lard/ Dairy Products
- These items will attract unwanted insects and rodents and will smell awful.
- Coal or charcoal ash
- Harmful to plants
- Pet Waste
- Pet waste, especially cat and dog feces and litter, could carry harmful bacteria, pathogens and viruses that could be harmful to humans.
- Black Walnut Tree leaves or branches
- Harmful to plants
- Plants treated with chemicals
- The chemicals could kill the beneficial organisms the compost needs to continue the decomposing process
- Diseased or insect infested plants
- Insects and disease could survive the compost process and then be transferred back to plants once compost is added to the soil.
What supplies do you need?
Compost bins or pile...
Growing up my family composted some so I knew a little bit of the basics. We lived on a few acres and had a large homemade compost pile that we used. If you have the space for it, there are lots of different options to build an easy compost pile or bin outside.
We currently live in a suburban neighborhood, so a big open compost pile was not going to cut it for us. We did some research and found there are great options for compost bins/tumblers that are perfect for the job! This keeps everything out of sight (and smell!) and also helps keep unwanted pests from bothering it.
I love our tumblers that are made by Miracle-Gro. So far they have held up really well, are easy to turn and have done a great job composting (I have gotten a few loads of compost out of them). We started out with just one tumbler and realized that it would get full and while waiting for it to compost we would have no where else to put scraps that were piling up. We bought a second tumbler so that we can alternate letting one compost and loading up the other. Once the one has decomposed we move the finished compost on to the gardens and then switch to filling it and allow the other one to decompose. It has worked out to be a great system!
Small Compost Bin for Kitchen...
More than anything else we add fruit and vegetable scraps into our compost. It is not practical to be walking out to the compost bins every single time I have a banana peel or apple core. So, I bought a little compost bin for my kitchen counter. I love this one that sits discreetly on my counter and collects my compost items. Every day or two I just run it out to the compost and dump it in. It is really easy to clean as well which makes it even better. I highly recommend getting one if you are starting to compost.
Compost Starter...
Adding compost starter is optional, but is a great option to help get your compost get going. It has a lot of nutrients and microbes necessary to help the composting process along. One bag will last you a while because you only need to add 2 cups per cubic yard of compost material. Since our bins are much smaller we added a lot less.
Tips for Composting...
Have two compost bins or piles...
As I said before we found that with only one compost bin it really slowed down the process and didn't really allow us to continuously compost throughout the year. So, I highly recommend having two bins or tumblers if you can. Here is the process we use with two bins:
- Start by filling one compost bin with materials.
- Once the first bin is getting full or heavy it is time to let it compost, so stop adding anything to the first bin. Allow it to sit and compost.
- Begin adding materials to the second bin only.
- Be sure to turn or stir both bins regularly to keep from overheating (see below).
- Keep a check on the first bin to make sure things are decomposing. In a few months time you will have a dark rich soil material that is ready to go on gardens, etc.
- Once you empty the first bin of compost start filling it again and allow the second one to compost by refraining from adding anything to it.
- Continue to repeat the process.
Turn or stir compost regularly...
Something really important to understand with composting is that when it is working right there are tons of little microbes and bacteria working to break down all of the materials. Toward the middle or bottom of your bin or pile as things break down it produces a lot of heat. It is important to be sure to stir or turn the compost regularly so that it does not get too hot, otherwise there is a chance it could catch on fire or combust.
Be patient...
While composting helps speed up the decomposing process, it still takes time. It will take a while for nature to do its work and really break down all of the materials added and turn them into that rich organic material. It usually take at least a couple of months or more for ours to reach the good organic material that we want to add to our garden. But trust me, it is worth the wait!
Do your research...
While starting to compost is relatively easy I always suggest taking time to learn more about it before you start. Read up on composting from trusted sources and be sure you are ready. Some of my go-to sources of information for anything related to gardening are the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and local and state Extension services.
Happy Composting!
I hope this little guide was helpful for anyone who would like to get started on composting. Like I said, it is a really easy thing that anyone can do and it is good for you, your gardens and the environment!
