How to Compost
Composting is really simple and something that just about anyone can do. If you’ve had any worries about whether or not you can do it you can drop those right now. Composting can be done at your home, school, work, or just about anywhere. The earth even does most of the work for us. You just have to give it a little place to do the work.
This is a simple guide of how to start composting and how to make it work!
What is Composting?
Composting is recycling done by nature! Composting is the controlled natural decomposition of organic material, such as leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen scraps. Microorganisms break down these materials into compost, or humus, the nutrient rich soil products that result from proper composting.
Why Compost?
Sending our waste to the landfill is an outdated way of thinking. The trash doesn’t break down there and releases methane gas into the environment, causing environmental damage. By composting organic materials ourselves we keep stuff out of the landfill, keep the gas guzzling trash trucks off the road, and turn our “waste” into a valuable product to enrich our gardens. We can literally turn our food and yard waste into the food that we have on our table just a few months later. Compost improves soil health, prevents erosion, conserves water by helping soil hold moisture, and reduces the need to buy commercial fertilizers. The list could go on and on about how composting helps us to live in harmony with the earth but I’ll let you see it for yourself when you start your own compost pile!
Where Can You Compost?
You can compost just about anywhere! It can be done in a big city on the balcony of an apartment or in a spacious backyard in a suburban setting. It can be done at school or work. It can be done at your neighbor or friend’s house, a community garden, or a vacant lot.
What do You Need to Get Started?
All you need is a little bit of space, a simple bin, and basic composting knowledge.
Space
You’ll need about a three-foot square space for a compost pile. If you don’t have a space that big then you can do vermiculture or use a contained bin. Partially shady is ideal so the sun doesn’t dry out your compost pile.
Compost Bins
I recommend keeping things as simple as possible and constructing a very simple bin out of scrap materials. You can construct a great bin out of wooden pallets, chicken wire, or scrap wood. If space is an issue, then do vermicomposting or get a manufactured bin. You can buy one of these used on craigslist, or at nurseries or garden centers or online. But try your best to keep it simple and spend as little money as possible to start composting.
Here’s my simple compost bin that I made out of three pallets and a little bit of metal wire. It cost me about $1 to put together and an hour of my time:
Composting Basics
Composting is earth’s natural recycling process. The earth depends on us to put the ingredients in the right place, but after that, most of the work is done by nature. No matter how bad you screw up with composting, it’s still better than sending the stuff to a landfill where it might sit for decades without biodegrading.
There are four ingredients to composting: greens, browns, water, and air.
Greens include fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings, plants that are freshly killed like tree trimmings, coffee grounds, tea bags, eggshells, and grains like bread.
Browns include dead leaves, twigs, newspaper, cardboard, wood chips, hay, and wood ashes. Make sure to shred up anything that is big and they will help to “bulk-up” and aerate the compost pile.
Water is really important. You want the pile to be kept moist like a wrung out kitchen sponge. Moisture is needed for the microorganisms to break everything down but if you have too much you might get a smelly pile.
Air is needed because aerobic bacteria need it to do their work. Without air, anaerobic bacteria will take over and cause odors. To get air into your pile, you can turn it with a shovel every week or so.
Another ingredient that takes care of itself is the compost critters. A compost pile has trillions of microorganisms living in it and they are responsible for breaking that banana peel or leaf down into soil. These organisms include bacteria and fungi. Don’t be grossed out though because they are inside your body too. One inch of your intestine has over one trillion bacteria. You’ll also find insects in your pile like worms and grubs. These help to break everything down into soil as well.
What Goes into Your Compost Pile?
A ratio of around 1:2 greens to browns will make a good compost pile. That means there should always be more browns than greens and never less. Too much food waste and too little yard waste will make a smelly pile that attracts insects and rodents. Anything that is plant-based can go into the pile. For beginners, I would recommend leaving out any animal products like meat, dairy, and grease. This can be done, but it’s more challenging. Also, keep dog and cat poop, fresh weeds with mature seeds, and treated wood products out of your compost.
Choose between Active Composting and Passive Composting
With active composting you have to start with a big pile or full bin of material. This will insulate the pile and allow it to heat up to between 120 and 150 degrees. With active composting you’ll turn it on a regular basis and add water as needed to maintain proper moisture and temperature. This method makes compost in as little as three months.
With passive composting you just add the greens and browns as they are generated. You only turn this pile and add water about once a month. It’s less labor intensive but it doesn’t heat up as much as active composting so it will take about a year for it to be done.
How to Tell When Your Compost is Ready?
When your pile has none of what you put in there is recognizable. You should only find a dark brown, crumbly soil material. And it should smell like earth! (Proper compost will never have a foul smell during the composting process either. I’ve amazed many of my city friends with how much better my compost smells than their garbage can.)
Using the Compost
You can mix it into your soil or use it as a top dressing. It can be used in your garden, in potted plants, and at the base of trees. Add it to any plants that you want to flourish!
My compost bin sits right next to my garden at my off the grid tiny house.
With that little bit of information, you can successfully compost! It really is as simple as taking those ingredients and putting them into a pile. That will eventually turn into a rich organic material that can be added to your garden. I started composting without knowing hardly anything about it and I’ve made great compost every time. You can even just bury your food waste right in your garden and it will turn into soil. In the 21st century, we’ve managed to complicate a lot of the things that have no need to be complicated. Let earth do the work and you’ll be living a life that is better for the earth, your community, and yourself. The best experience is by actually doing it though so just get started today and it will all work itself out.
Here are some resources for detailed information on composting:
A Guide to Starting a Composting Program in Your School
A Teacher’s Guide to Compost Activities
I compost by using a Rot Rock. A Rot Rock is a rock (or a flowerpot, or a gnome, or a log, or a folded up old woolen sweater under any and all of the above, or a stack of wet newspapers bonded together by moisture and decay, or a cow skull . . . really anything heavyish) under which I put such things as will fit (sometimes with a bit of digging) and will decompose. Such tempting items as shrimp shells must be carefully tamped down, but the main idea is that it be immured in such a way that nothing will smell it (that is, no above ground creature) and dig it up. You don't want flies to find it and lay eggs on it, or a cat to drag it out. You want the earth critters (worms, doodlebugs, and such) to dispose of it for you by dispersing it into the surrounding soil in their excrement. You can do this under a tree or shrub, or in a larger container. You can also make the compostable less appealing by freezing it (You are TRYING to freezer burn it, trying to break all the cells . . . this will speed up the composting! Also no smells in the kitchen.) So I don't have a special container. A very nice Rot Rock is an old coir rug or doormat with a weight on top; they rot wonderfully and whatever is under rots too.
Hi Rob,
I’ve just seen your work today for the first time. I love it by the way. You give us oldies hope for future generations. I’m interested in becoming self-sustainable myself in the next few years. My question looking at your work is – how do you generate income? and did you buy that land or is it a friend’s or family? The reason I ask is that these are important start-up questions for any beginner to answer for themselves. The where and the how. It would be grand to know. Meanwhile,
all the very best,
Nancy
Thanks for this great post. I’m absolutely new at composting and needed some more information about where to place my composting container, what are the materials needed for making a compost, well I need to know everything because I’ve never done it before. It was very helpful for me to read form you . Greets!