Do you also want to turn kitchen waste into “black gold” to nourish your garden? Home composting is a magical and highly rewarding practice that not only reduces waste and improves soil health, but also significantly reduces your carbon footprint. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), food waste and yard waste account for nearly 30% of landfill waste in the United States.¹
By composting at home, you can directly participate in organic recycling, transforming this valuable organic matter into soil amends and garden fertilizers for your garden.
This article will provide a beginner-friendly composting guide, showing you how to start home composting, choose the right composting methods, manage your compost pile, and ultimately harvest high-quality humus.
Why Compost at Home?
Composting is a microbial-driven decomposition process that transforms organic waste into nutrient-rich compost. The benefits of composting at home go far beyond reducing waste:
- Reduce Landfill Waste: Prevents the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in landfills, which produces the potent greenhouse gas methane.
- Improve Soil Health: Compost increases soil water retention and aeration, providing essential nutrients for plants and promoting their growth.
- Save Money: Reduces the need to purchase chemical fertilizers, lowering gardening costs.
- Eco-friendly: Your waste diversion efforts directly contribute to sustainable living.
Choosing Your Home Composting Method
There are several ways to compost at home, and the best choice depends on your space, effort, and the amount of waste.
Cold Composting / Static Composting
The simplest composting method, simply collecting food scraps and yard waste in a compost bin or corner.
- Advantages: Requires almost no extra effort, suitable for beginners.
- Disadvantages: Slow decomposition, potentially taking a year or more. Cannot handle meat, dairy products, etc., as this could lead to a smelly compost pile or attract pests.
Hot Composting / Rapid Composting
If you want quick compost, hot composting is ideal. It requires more maintenance, but the returns are much faster.
Principle:
By maintaining an appropriate carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, moisture, and aeration, the internal temperature of the compost pile is kept between 55-65°C (130-150°F), accelerating microbial activity.
- Advantages: Compost time is significantly shortened to a few weeks to a few months; high temperatures kill pathogens and weed seeds.
- Disadvantages: Requires regular turning of the compost and monitoring of the compost temperature.
Vermicomposting
For apartment composting or small space composting, vermicomposting is an excellent indoor composting solution.
Principle:
Red earthworms (such as Eupolyphaga sinensis) consume kitchen waste and excrete nutrient-rich vermicomposting.
- Advantages: Odorless composting (if managed properly), can be done indoors, and the byproduct (vermicompost) is an excellent soil conditioner.
- Disadvantages: Cannot handle large amounts of garbage, has stricter requirements for compostable materials, and is not suitable for processing meat or oily foods.
Compost Bins & Tumblers
Choosing the right composting equipment can make the composting process easier.
- Compost Bins: Available in various materials and sizes, suitable for most backyard composting needs.
- Compost Tumblers: Easy to turn, accelerates decomposition, but have limited capacity.
- DIY Compost Bins: Made using planks, old trash cans, or wire mesh; inexpensive.
Understanding Your Composting Materials: Browns & Greens
Successful composting requires the correct carbon and nitrogen balance.
Green Materials – Nitrogen-Rich:
- Food Scraps: Fruit peels, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea leaves, eggshells.
- Fresh Grass Clippings.
- Plant residue.
Brown Materials – Carbon-Rich:
- Dead Leaves.
- Wood Chips.
- Newspaper, Cardboard (shredded or cut).
- Hay, Straw.
The ideal carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is approximately 30:1. A general rule of thumb is to add 2-3 parts brown materials to every part green materials.
What to Compost at Home?
- Fruit peels, vegetable scraps
- Coffee grounds, coffee filters, tea bags
- Eggshells (crushed)
- Bread, pasta (small amount, to avoid attracting pests)
- Corn cobs, fruit pits
- Cotton, linen fabrics (shredded)
- Dried leaves, twigs (chopped), grass clippings
- Cardboard, newspaper (shredded, small amount)
What Not to Compost at Home?
- Meat, bones, fish, dairy products, fried foods: These produce a compost odor, attract compost-attracting pests such as rats and flies, and decompose slowly.
- Pet waste: May contain harmful pathogens unless a dedicated composting system is used and it is not used in the vegetable garden.
- Disease-infested plants: May spread pathogens to your garden.
- Oils, fats: Difficult to decompose, attract pests.
- Chemically treated wood: Releases harmful substances.
- Coal ash and charcoal ash: May contain heavy metals or adversely affect the pH value of compost.
- Some “compostable plastics”: Most require specific high temperatures in commercial composting facilities to decompose and may not decompose effectively in home composting.
Starting Your Compost Pile/Bin
- Choose a location: Place it in a well-ventilated, well-drained, and partially shaded area. Keep it away from doors and windows to prevent compost odors.
- Prepare the foundation: Lay a layer of coarse brown material (such as twigs) at the bottom of the compost bin to promote aeration and drainage.
- Layering materials: Alternate between green and brown materials. Cover each new piece of waste with a layer of brown material to help reduce odors.
- Keep it moist: The compost pile needs to be as moist as a wrung-out sponge. If the compost is too dry, water it; if it is too wet, add more brown material.
- Turning the compost regularly: This is key to hot composting. Turn the compost every few days or once a week using a compost aerator or shovel to move outer materials to the inside and increase oxygen, accelerating decomposition.
Compost Troubleshooting
- Compost Pile Smells Bad: This is usually due to too much nitrogen (too much green matter) or insufficient oxygen (lack of turning). Solution: Add more brown matter and turn thoroughly.
- Compost Attracting Pests: This is usually because meat, oily foods, or food waste wasn’t covered with brown matter. Solution: Remove the attractants, ensure food waste is buried inside the compost, and cover with brown matter.
- Compost Not Breaking Down: This may be due to being too dry, too wet, lacking oxygen, or an unbalanced carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Check moisture, aeration, and adjust the mix ratio.
- Slow Composting: Cold composting is naturally slow. Slow composting in hot compost may be caused by the above problems. Ensure materials are chopped, thoroughly mixed, and turned.
Using Your Finished Compost
When Is Compost Ready?
Your compost is ready when it turns dark brown, becomes earthy, smells of soil or forest, and the original materials are no longer recognizable. This process can take weeks to months, depending on your methods and management.
How to Use Finished Compost?
- Soil Conditioner: Mix directly into garden soil, especially suitable for newly established flower beds or vegetable gardens.
- Topsoil: Spread a layer of compost around the base of plants to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
- Potting Mixture: Mix compost with garden soil and perlite to create a high-quality potting mix.
- Compost Tea: Soak a small amount of compost in water to make a nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer for watering plants.
Conclusion:
Home composting is a powerful tool that allows you to directly participate in reducing waste and improving soil health. While it requires some learning and practice, by choosing the right composting methods, managing your composting materials, and addressing any minor issues that may arise, you will soon enjoy the rich rewards your homemade organic matter brings to your garden.
