How to make your own compost

Not only does compost add beneficial organisms to soil, but it's also much better for the environment than chemical fertilizers and helps to reduce landfill waste. Many cities have implemented composting programs that allow residents to deposit yard and food waste with their curbside garbage removal. Some, like San Francisco, have mandatory composting programs. Cities with curbside composting usually provide green or brown bins specifically for compostables – along with blue bins for recycling and black for the regular trash.

If you have a garden of any kind, making your own compost will save you money on fertilizer, potting soil, and mulch. Plus, you’ll know for sure that what you’re adding to your soil is 100 percent organic. To begin making your own compost, the first thing you need to know is what to put in it. 

All compost is a mixture of green and brown material, or nitrogen based and carbon based substances.

Green Material – high in nitrogen includes:

• Coffee grounds
• Tea leaves
• Fruit cores
• Peels
• Uneaten leftovers (nothing greasy or meat-based)
• Eggshells
• Plant cuttings
• Grass trimmings
• Barnyard animal manure

Brown Material – high in carbon includes:

• Fallen leaves
• Cardboard and newspaper
• Straw and hay
• Wood shavings and small branches
• Cornstalks 
• Dryer lint from natural fibers 

Compost should have at least a 50-50 ratio of carbon to nitrogen though some people recommend maintaining a 2/3 carbon to 1/3 nitrogen based ratio.

Things not to add to compost:

• Meat and fish
• Dairy and oil
• Preservative-treated wood scraps
• Charcoal ash
• Dog and cat waste
• Invasive weeds

Outdoors, start your compost pile on bare earth if possible so that earthworms and other beneficial organisms can provide aeration. Work in alternating layers, adding twigs and straw first, then something damp like teabags and food scraps, then another layer of dry substances such as sawdust and leaves, then wet again.

How to maintain your own compost

Water

Add water – you want your pile to be damp but not soaked (or it will smell and become slimy with harmful bacteria – ew!)

Smell means too much water or too many greens and not enough browns.

If your pile is outside but rainfall in your area is minimal, pour a bucket of water over it every week. Working correctly, your compost pile will be hot in the middle. Heat sterilizes and kills weed seeds and the bacteria you don’t want.

Cover the pile with wood or plastic sheeting to help keep heat in and avoid too much rainfall.

Turn

Turn the pile every two to four weeks with a pitchfork or shovel. You should have usable compost in one to two months.

Compost Bins

If you don’t have the space to create a compost pile outdoors or if you’d just rather have it all contained within a structure, you can purchase a compost bin for the task. Enclosed bins speed up the natural progression of composting as their internal temperature remains higher than that of a plain old pile on the ground. They also mean you can compost year-round.

Composters you can buy for at-home use

There are different kinds of composters available depending on where you live and what you’ll be composting. If you live in a city with no outdoor space, consider a worm bin. If you have a patio or balcony, a worm bin or a compost tumbler should meet your needs. In your yard, an enclosed bin or a compost tumbler should suit your needs.

Worm Factory Composting System

If you want to compost inside your sixth-floor walkup in Manhattan far away from the ground and any possible composting worms, this system is for you. To begin, add the included bedding material in the bottom tray of the system along with one pound of composting worms (not included). Then begin adding household waste to the tray. Once the tray is filled, stack another on top. The worms will migrate upwards through the grid bottom.

Compost Tumbler

At 23.5” long, 17” wide, and 29.5” high, this compost tumbler from Miracle Gro is perfect for a balcony, patio, rooftop, or other small outdoor space. The tumbler design makes it easy to turn your compost (you simply rotate the bin itself by the handles) while the heavy-duty BPA-free plastic allows you to compost year-round.

Large Outdoor Compost bins

For use outdoors, there are both the tumbler and stationary compost bins available. Large, 80 to 100 gallon bins should have aeration holes, an open bottom, a lid that seals closed (to keep out wildlife), and access doors at the bottom. Most are a top-loading design and require turning or stirring of the contents for proper composting.

This bin from Ejwox comes with stakes that allow you to secure it to the ground which is helpful if you anticipate racoons and other wildlife attempting to tip it over.

Miracle-Gro also manufactures a huge dual-chamber compost tumbler for your high-volume composting needs. The design lets you start a new compost “pile” on one side while the other side cures, meaning that once this tumbler is up and working, you’ll never be without compost. The tumbler design works by simply rotating the entire bin on its axis.

Counter top kitchen compost bins

Purchase a counter top kitchen compost bin to store your kitchen scraps before taking them out to the compost pile. Made of biodegradable bamboo, this compost bin will break down cleanly, leaving behind virtually no environmental waste itself when you no longer want it. It comes with a lid and charcoal filter which helps to prevent odors.

Uses of Compost

Use your freshly made compost as fertilizer, mulch (add on top of beds in a 3 to 6-inch layer), potting soil (mix with topsoil and vermiculite), or compost tea for your plants. One of the cool things about making your own compost is that you are actively participating in the circular motion of all life, returning to the earth that which came from it and helping to bring forth new growth. At least that’s how I like to think of it.