Composting 101
This composting for beginners guide can help you learn the basics of composting and how it can help the environment while also helping your garden grow.
Other than reducing what we buy and use, recycling is one of the best ways to reduce the amount of garbage we throw out. Unfortunately, not everything we throw out is recyclable. There is some non-recyclable garbage that doesn’t need to end up in a landfill. Waste like grass clippings, leaves and specific food waste can be used to produce natural organic matter called compost. Compost is full of nutrients and can be used to enrich our soil and gardens. Compost-rich soil feeds plants nutrients to help them grow strong and healthy.
What is compost?
Compost is made by decomposing organic waste, like leaves and food scraps, into a nutrient-rich material. Decomposing of organic matter happens naturally. We see it happening all around us. Garden plants drying up and breaking down into the soil, leaves rotting in moisture and bugs devouring mulch. Composting simply speeds up the natural decomposing process. By composting, you can create an environment where bacteria and other decomposing organisms like worms and sowbugs, can thrive. What would take months or years to decompose naturally, can be done in a matter of weeks through composting.
Why should I compost?
Why is composting important? Well, by some estimates, garden and food waste makes up to 21% of all the garbage we throw out. By keeping this waste out of the landfill, you can:
- Reduce harmful gases like methane – this is a greenhouse gas that comes from landfills.
- Save money by eliminating the need to buy fertilizers
- Reduce the need to use chemical soil supplements
- Helps the soil to maintain moisture levels, which decreases the need for watering.
- Reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Composting is also a great way to recycle at home and teach kids about the natural life cycle. By observing the transformation of waste into useful material, kids can learn how nature makes use of all the material it produces.
Benefits of composting:
- Good for the environment
- Good for your plants
- Saves you money
- It’s easy to do and requires little effort
Composting is Good for the Environment
Instead of sending our compostable material into a landfill where it will contribute to methane gas production, we can use this material to enrich our garden. Natural, organic matter from our yards like grass clippings, leaves and food waste makes up more than 28% of what we throw away.
Composting is Good for Your Plants
Compost-rich soil will produce increased yields of fruits and vegetables and healthier-looking plants. Composting can also be beneficial for our health. Plants, fruits and vegetables grown in nutrient-rich soil are full of nutrients. By eating these, we get the health benefits of these nutrients.
Composting Can Save You Money
By composting you create nutrient-rich material for your garden so you don’t need to buy chemicals or fertilizers to help your gardens grow. By redirecting waste material from the landfill, you are extending the life of your municipality’s landfill and the need to build another one. This will save you on your taxes in the long run.
Composting is Easy to Do
Your neighbours are doing it. By some accounts, over 60% of households are already composting yard waste. By starting a compost pile you can do your part to help the community. Even if you don’t have a yard, there are a number of easy-to-use in-home composting solutions.
Misconceptions about composting
Composting is hard
Composting is one of the easiest things you can do to save the environment. Most of the work happens naturally. All you have to do is make sure you keep a balance of waste materials and turn over the compost material once every couple of weeks.
Composting is Smelly
We’ve all experienced the awful smell of something rotting. When materials rot they often release gases, like methane, that are not pleasant to the nose. However, when you have a proper mix of rotting material (browns & greens, heat and moisture) you can develop an environment where rotting and decomposition occur without the release of smelly gases. A properly balanced compost pile is relatively odourless.
Composting Takes Up to Much Space
Compost piles do not have to take up much space in your yard. An area as small as 3 feet long by 3 feet wide is all you need. You can even buy compost containers that are even smaller in order to conceal the compost material in a nice, attractive container. Don’t have a yard? Why not try a countertop indoor composter? While it won’t produce heaps of compost, it’s enough to divert a significant amount of food waste from the landfill and produce hearty compost for your indoor plants. Alternatively, if you don’t have a yard or live in an apartment or condo, you can see if your community has a community compost bin. Some cities have areas where people can drop off compostable materials to reduce waste. You can then share in the compost that it produces.
How to Compost
There are only four things you need to create the right environment to create compost: 1) nutrients in the form of waste material, 2) moisture, 3) oxygen and 4) warm temperatures. The rest of the work is done by microorganisms that thrive in a compost environment.
Microorganisms are vital to the composting process. While microorganisms can be found everywhere in the environment, a proper composting environment can help them thrive. The great thing about microorganisms is that they do all the work. They break down the waste material to produce nutrient-rich compost.
Step 1 Start with a Location
Composting doesn’t have to take up a lot of space but you should allow enough room for your yard waste and food scraps. A space that is at least 3 feet by 3 feet is recommended, but you can adjust this as needed. Find a location where the container will get some sunlight so that it can heat up the compost material to encourage microorganism growth. Try not to locate the compost area right next to your house as the moisture from the compost may affect your foundation. Choose a dry, level space, ideally near your garden.
Step 2 Use the Right Compost Container
You will need a compost container to collect your compostable material. You can either choose a stationary container or a rotating container. A stationary container can be store-bought or homemade. You can make your own compost container using old pallets or chicken wire. If you are using your own container like a trash can, make sure you drill holes in the sides and bottom of it to allow for drainage and airflow.
Rotating containers are usually the shape of drums that are suspended above the ground to allow for easy turning of the drum and material inside. Whether stationary or rotating, your container should be well-ventilated and be able to absorb and retain heat. The size and type of container you choose will depend on how much yard waste (grass clippings, plants, etc.) you have, how large your yard is and how fast quickly you plan on being able to collect your finished compost.
Step 3 Use the Right Mix of Green and Brown Material
Make sure your waste material is a mix of “green” and “brown” waste. Examples of green waste include coffee grounds, grass clippings, and fruit & vegetable waste. These green materials are rich in nutrients and high in nitrogen. These are key to breaking down organic matter. Examples of “brown” matter include dead leaves, hay and straw, small tree branches and twigs, cardboard, wood chips & sawdust, fireplace ashes, shredded newspaper, yard clippings and dryer lint. These materials are rich in carbon. Ideally, you should have 2 to 3 times more brown material than green in your composter.
When the “green” materials (rich in nitrogen) and “brown” materials (rich in carbon”) are combined they produce compost material rich in nutrients.
When adding these materials to your composter, it’s good to create alternating layers of each. The top layer should always be brown materials. This will prevent odours from occurring and will also reduce the attraction of rodents.
Step 4. Maintaining Your Composter
Make sure your compost bin is humid and moist. Adding some water periodically or leftover coffee will help. If you have leftover soil (from pots or from your garden) you can add it to the mix as well. There are some activators that you can buy that will accelerate the decomposing process and get you that nutrient-rich compost faster. This isn’t necessary if you keep adding fresh materials to your composter and turn it over regularly (i.e. once every couple of weeks). Turn over the compost material every couple of weeks using a pitchfork or shovel. If you have a rotating composter, make sure you turn it every couple of weeks and also add moisture as necessary.
Step 5. Know When the Compost is Ready to Use
When the compost pile has turned into a deep brown, dry, crumbly material that looks like soil, the compost is finished and ready to use in a garden or yard. This usually takes 6-8 weeks in the summer but may take longer in the winter depending on the temperature.
Composting Matter
Green Mater to Add to Your Compost Pile
- fruit and vegetable scraps, peels, cores, and seeds
- coffee grounds and coffee filters
- excess soil from pots or from your garden
- crushed eggshells (not egg whites or yolks)
Brown matter
- dead leaves
- hay and straw
- tree branches and twigs
- cardboard
- wood chips and sawdust
- firepit ashes
- shredded newspaper
- dryer lint
What not to compost
- Any type of meat or bones
- Dairy (yogurt, milk, cheese)
- egg yolks and whites
- greasy foods or oils
- Onions and garlic (may repel earthworms)
Final Tips
Compost should not have an unpleasant or strong odour. If it does, then add more brown material and turn it over more frequently to improve airflow.
The compost should be moist, not wet. If the compost is too wet the material may not break down as fast as it should and odours may occur. If your compost is too wet add more brown material.
If the compost pile is too dry or doesn’t look like it is breaking down, add more green material and moisture.
Don’t start too small. You need a sufficient amount of green and brown material to get the decomposing process started and continue until everything gets broken down.
Your final compost material may still have some visible green or brown waste like egg shells or vegetable stalks. The compost material doesn’t have to be uniformly broken down in order to be useful. These materials will continue to decompose and break down in your garden.
Don’t use too much of the same material. A combination of different materials provides a variety of nutrients that will work together to decompose faster and make richer compost.
Summary
Composting is an easy way to help the environment. You can reduce waste in landfills and at the same time create nutrient-rich material that will grow healthier, stronger and happier plants. Don’t get overwhelmed, composting isn’t hard and the best way to learn how is to start doing it.