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Check out this post for great ways to get started in composting this year!
As home gardening becomes more popular, budding gardeners are looking for better ways to fertilizer their plants. Some fertilizers may contain toxic substances that some people prefer to keep out of their gardens. With this in mind, its easy to understand why composting has become so popular. Composting is the best way to recycle organic matter into nutrient-dense soil. It is also sustainable as you can recycle kitchen scraps to yard clippings to shredded paper and turn them into something useful. Read on for our complete guide on getting started and an analysis of common composting misconceptions! If you decide to start composting check out our tool guide here.
Contents
Read on to learn about how to set up your own composting space at home!
Benefits of Home Garden Compost
Composting is a natural process that transforms organic waste into the nutrient-dense soil plants love. By composting, you can reduce waste sent to landfills and feed your garden! It is a relatively simple process with little to no equipment necessary. All you need is food scraps, paper, yard waste, and a little bit of space. It is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and get a natural fertilizer for vegetable and flower gardens.
Setting Up a Space
Composting can be done in one of two places, an open pile or an enclosed container. For open piles, it is recommended to section off around a square that is around 9-25 square feet. For containers, you should select one that is around 10 cubic feet, with holes drilled for drainage and airflow, but exact sizes vary based on how much compost you want to make. These spaces should be outdoors and ideally somewhere out of the way of other activities. For people who do not have an enclosed yard, you can check online for community piles or initiatives that accept waste contributions in exchange for the use of the compost.
The Composting Cycle
Composting begins the day you add organic material into your space. However, you can't just throw everything in a box and expect to have great soil in a week. The purpose of composting is to speed up natural decomposition by creating the ideal environment for the microorganisms that make this process possible. To do this, make sure to break down anything you add to the pile. The smaller it is, the faster it will get broken down. Ideally, break it into pieces less than 1-2 square inches (2-4 sq. cm).
Once you have a decent size pile of organic matter, it's time to begin stirring. This ensures the whole pile will get broken down at a relatively even pace. Mix the pile with a shovel, pitchfork, or any other gardening tool you have lying around. Your organic material should get mixed about once a week for best results. Additionally, making sure the pile doesn't get too dry is important. This is especially true for piles in direct sun or hot environments.
When you are no longer able to recognize individual components within the pile, it may be time to finish up. The most common way of "harvesting" good compost is sifting. Sifting the material with a 1/4 inch screen will get you the most broken down components. Anything leftover can either be sifted into a coarser pile, or tossed back onto the original pile. You can vary the size of the sifting based on how fine you want the compost to be when added to the garden. If you have excess, consider sharing it with a fellow gardener.
Organic Material
Anything that is or was organic material should be considered good for composting. Remember, composting is a way of speeding up the natural processes of decomposition so anything that would decompose eventually is a viable ingredients. These ingredients are split into two categories based on what nutrients they contribute to the process: green material and brown material.
"Green Material"
"Greens" are organic matter that is rich in nitrogen. They help provide the resources for decomposing microorganisms to grow and multiply. These usually have a high water volume and can include a lot of different things:
Kitchen Scraps
Coffee Grounds
Egg Shells
Grass Clippings
Weeds
Tea Bags
Adding these in adds water to the compost, so make sure to balance it out with the correct amount of "brown material". Check out the compost a couple days after adding in the green material as sometimes the volume you put in may drastically decrease after losing water as it dries out.
"Brown Material"
"Browns" are organic matter rich in carbon. The give compost piles their volume, help with airflow, and break down in the presence of moisture. This material tends to be easy to find in large quantities including:
Paper
Sawdust
Shredded Cardboard
Twigs
Dead Leaves
Dryer Lint
Consider adding old grocery bags to the mix. In fact, most inks are now biodegradable, although they did not used to be in the past. Simply shred or rip up these items and add them into the compost to add in more carbon food for your plants.
Ratio
The ratio of green to brown material does NOT have to be exact. Again, composting is meant to accelerate what will happen no matter what. That said, the ideal ratio is 3-4 parts brown material to each 1 part green material. If your pile is not heating up, add green material. If your pile is beginning to smell, add brown material. Remember to mix the pile thoroughly to ensure a consistent ratio and keep the water levels in check.
Debunking Composting Misconceptions
There are several misconceptions when it comes to composting, and hopefully we can clear some of these up to put your concerns at ease.
Smell
Composting involves encouraging the decomposition of food, which tends to make people think of landfills and their awful stench. In reality, if you are able to maintain the correct ratio of brown to green material, there should be no noticeable odors. If the pile does begin to smell, add as much brown material as possible until the smell is gone.
The other issue that could be causing a smell is meats, dairies, and fats. While these are compostable, they are usually excluded do to odor and their tendency to attract unwanted pests to properties. Keeps these out of you compost, and there should be no worries.
Furthermore, keep in mind that if you are storing food scraps on their own, they may initially smell as the decomposition process starts. However, mixing in the "brown" material may mitigate this smell.
Worms and Detritivores
It is a common misconception that worms or other detritivores are essential to the decomposition of organic material. While they do help, and are definitely hallmarks of quality soil, composting is mainly done through microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria. Feel free to add some, but it isn't a necessary component to healthy, nutrient-rich compost.
Mushrooms
Sometimes, mushroom caps will burst from a pile of compost. If you see this, you may be concerned, but generally there is no reason to worry. While fungi can sometimes earn a bad reputation, they are one of the primary organisms associated with decomposition and part of every compost pile. If mushrooms begin to pop out of the top, it means you are doing great and everything is decomposing as it should!
Conclusion
Composting is a great way to turn a part of your outdoor space into a factory for high quality, nutrient-dense fertilizer. Upgrade your home garden by making space for homemade compost. Reduce your household's waste output by recycling paper and food scraps into a product that will give back to the natural cycle.
As always let us know if you have tried our suggestions and how they work for you! If you have any questions or comments please let us know. Happy composting! Let's build a better world together!
Find our compost tool product reviews here.
Want to tell if you compost is high quality? See our guide here.
Read about more holistic lifestyle changes you can make here!
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