Composting for Beginners

Composting goes hand in hand with homesteading, but for someone just starting out, it can be overwhelming.  Soil ph, balancing, rotating, remembering what you can and can not compost – it’s a lot of information.  

If you have a garden – veggies or flowers or even just a lawn – composting is a free way to naturally improve your soil.  It cuts down on landfill waste. And if you have farm animals, composting turns that growing pile of manure into something valuable.  It is an easy way to conserve natural resources.  Composting is really a win-win-win!  So what are the basics, the bare minimum you need to know to get started composting?

Does your town allow in yard composting?

Unfortunately, not all cities allow you to compost your food waste in your yard.  Concern over attracting rodents, unpleasant smells, and unmanaged piles have led many places to outlaw backyard composting.  Call your town hall to check the laws for your area.  If you find that you can not have an open compost pile, your town may allow a covered can or bin on your back deck which is another good alternative and on the plus side is easy to manage for beginners.

What food waste can you compost?

Do compost:

• most vegetable & fruit scraps (even if they are old or moldy)
• eggshells
• coffee grounds & used tea bags
• stale bread, rice, crackers, cooked pasta (anything made of flour)
• melon rinds
• corn cobs & husks

NOT RECOMMENDED for compost:

• any meat, fish, or meat products (skin, gristle, fat, bones)
• dairy products (yogurt, cheese, milk, butter, sour cream)
• cooking grease or oils
• citrus fruit peels
• onions, garlic, & potatoes

Notes: While you CAN compost things like meat & dairy products, they are the items that tend to produce rotting smells as they decompose and are the most likely to attract predators and rodents. Small amounts of leftover cooking grease & vegetable oils are ok for the compost, but in large amounts, it can hinder the composting process.

The same goes for citrus peels – you CAN put citrus peels in the compost but they take a longer time to compost so you might want to chop or grind them first. If you add too much citrus it can hinder worm activity, which is something that is needed for composting. Onions & garlic have a strong smell as they rot which may be unpleasant for you and can deter worms, but in small amounts could be ok. Another factor with onions, garlic, and potatoes is that if you are composting them whole they could sprout in your compost bin.

What non-food items can you compost?

DO compost:

• tissues, toilet paper & paper towels and cardboard rolls
• newspaper & non-glossy magazines/junk mail
• coffee filters
• weeds & grass clippings
• leaves & pine needles
• farm animal manure & bedding (poultry, rabbit, horse, cow, alpaca, sheep, goat – basically anything that is mainly a vegetarian)
• sawdust
• paper bags & cardboard
• dryer lint/vacuum dust

DON’T compost:

• plastic
• any plants/weeds that were diseased
• pet waste or cat litter (from cats, dogs – animals that eat meat)

What equipment do I need to compost?

You’ll need something to collect scraps in your kitchen.  This can be as simple as an old Tubberware container or empty yogurt container, or you could get a fancy countertop compost pail with a carbon filter to control smells.  You will want to be sure it has a lid to keep out bugs and keep down smells, and make sure you empty it at least once-twice a week

An area outside for collecting compost.  Truthfully, you could just have a pile at the edge of your property, but most people prefer to keep it contained in a bin of some sort.  You can buy fully enclosed composting bins, tumbling composters, use an old trash can with some holes drilled in it or build a compost system from old pallets (click here to see how we did that!)

a pitchfork or shovel to turn the pile

What kind of maintenance does compost need?

Not very much.  Composting works because the food/manure attracts all sorts of beneficial microbes, fungi, bacteria, worms, and insects.  These composting superheroes do all the work of breaking down the materials into nutrient-rich soil.

All those little guys need oxygen just like we do – you will want to occasionally turn your compost to introduce oxygen.  If you are composting in a bin or tumbler you can just roll it around.  If you have a pile, just take a pitchfork and toss the pile a bit when you add new materials.  If your compost is in a closed bin, make sure there are holes to allow for air exchange.

The other thing composting microbes like is moisture.  The heat generated by the composting action can dry everything out, and that will make for an inhospitable environment for them.  Put your bin in a shady area.  If your bin is open, rain and snow will likely take care of keeping things moist, but in unusually dry weather you might want to give your compost a soaking with the hose.  If your compost is closed be sure to add enough water so that the materials stay moist.

Extra tips for superstar compost

Balance

Try to keep your pile balanced between green (food scraps listed above) and brown (non food listed above).  A mixture of three parts brown to one part green will allow a good balance of nitrogen & carbon to break down the materials quickly and will also keep odors to a minimum

Convenience

You want your compost bin to be close enough to your home that you will use it.  If it’s at the furthest end of your yard you are not likely to use it as often.  Keeping it near your garden is a great option for when it’s time to use all that lovely soil

Multi-Section System

If possible have a multi-section composting system (two-three bins or piles).  Compost takes about 6-9 months to break down.  If you have multiple piles going at once you can have one you are currently adding to, one that is aging, and one with usable soil.  I have two pallet compost bins side by side.  I add to one side of the bin January-June and add to the other side July-December.

Earthworms

Earthworms will likely flock to your compost, but you can jumpstart the process with a pack of purchased earthworms

Put your chickens to work

Chickens are awesome composting helpers because they LOVE digging through the pile looking for bugs or food scraps.  This is good and bad – good that they turn the compost for you (yay for less work!) but bad because they will kick compost all over the area and make a general mess.  If you have chickens plan accordingly!

Rodents

To keep rodent visitors to a minimum don’t add meat and dairy products to your open piles.  If you find that rodents are in your compost, act quickly before they tell all their friends where the free buffet is. Either switch to a closed bin composter for a month or so or temporarily stop adding all food scraps to the bin.