Topics: Composting

Composting is an easy and practical way to recycle kitchen waste and achieve a resulting improvement in the quality of your garden soil. Safe and low-cost, it's an easy way to promote healthy plants while reducing up to 15% of your waste stream and efficiently recycling nutrients.

How to Make and Start a Compost Pile

To start, you will need small mesh wire fencing or snow fencing and seven or more rough boards or stakes. Build a square- or rectangular-shaped structure, three to four feet in height. Locate it away from buildings and combustible materials.

Next, spread a layer of plant wastes six to eight inches deep in the bottom of your bin. Moisten the layer thoroughly. Then, make a second layer of high nitrogen fertilizer, such as 10-10-10 ( a very thin layer only 1/2 pound or one cup for each 30-35 square feet. Moisten again. Continue by making a third layer with a few shovelfuls of garden soil (one to two inches deep). This ensures plenty of decay organisms ar present. Finally, moisten thoroughly.

Using your Compost

Once the compost bin is created, continue the above steps until you have used up the waste material. At the start, your pile should have at least four or five layers of waste. Kitchen scraps (not including meats, fish, bones, and fatty foods) should be added to the center of the waste layers where the majority of heat is. Pile waste loosely in the bin and make the top layers slant to collect rainfall. Remember, water is the key to successful composting.

Composting Hints

• Add lime, small amounts of wood ashes or crushed egg shells to compost pile to neutralize acids
• Mix grass clippings with other wastes to loosen them up
• Keep pile damp
• Do not use unfinished compost as it will rob your plants of nitrogen
• Do not compost weeds laden with seeds
• Do not add meat, fish, bones, or fatty food scraps
• Do not add diseased vegetable plants to pile

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to some questions frequently asked about home composting.

Do I have to shred materials for the composting pile?

Simply put, the smaller the material that goes into the pile, the quicker it decomposes.

Can I use a rotary motor to shred the material?

Yes, but it works best on dry material that is not too woody. Dry leaves are a good example.

Do I need to turn the compost pile?

Yes. Turning the pile stimulates more oxygen intake and moves undecomposed material where it can break down.

Will composting release any pungent smells?

No, not if it's composted correctly (sufficient aeration and moisture necessary for quick decomposition).

Related Composting Links

The web is full of exceptional resources related to backyard composting. Here are just a few:

Cornell Composting - provides access to a variety of composting educational materials and programs developed at Cornell University.

Florida's Online Composting Center - A great deal of useful information developed by Sarasota County, but useful anywhere.

The Digital Composter - another compendium of useful information

Natural Resources Conservation Service - Backyard Conservation - A composting resource developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Backyard Magic - A nice online handbook developed by the Province of New Brunswick.