How to Compost

You don’t have to be an avid gardener to enjoy the benefits of compost.

Composting helps your yard and the environment by recycling common household scraps and yard waste. In fact, you can work rich composting materials into your home’s landscaping beds every spring to give annuals and perennials a quick and natural boost of fertilization. Compost is also the perfect ingredient for vegetable gardens – giving plants essential nutrients.

Tools and Materials for Composting

• Compost Bin Material Options:
• Wire Fencing
• Wood for Bins
• Plastic Bins
• Household Collection Container(s)
• Compositing Materials
• Pitchfork or Shovel
• Gloves

Preparing a Compost Pile or Bin

Select an area for your compost pile or bin. Look for a spot that gets a lot of sunlight and has nearby access to water. Make sure the location is close to the house for convenience, but not so close that decaying organics can be smelled inside.

Build or purchase compost bins. A small fenced area with no bottom allows worms and other beneficial organisms from the earth to work and aerate the compost.

Bins, with or without a bottom, can be made with wood to contain the compost.

For building plans, visit LowesCreativeIdeas.com/CompostBin.

Ready-to-use compost bins can be purchased and quickly put to work. They keep the pile contained and looking neat, while protecting the compost from weather and animals.

TIP: Consider setting up two compost areas: one that is being added to and one that is ready for use as fertilizer.

Start your compost pile by lining the bottom of the fenced area or bin with straw or other dry organic material.

What is Composting?

Efficient decomposition requires nitrogen (kitchen scraps), carbon (yard waste), oxygen (air), and water.

1. Collect kitchen and household scraps for the compost pile.

Useful items include:


• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Coffee grounds and tea leaves
• Eggshells (rinsed of whites and yolks)
• Shredded newspaper (not magazines)
• Fireplace ashes
• Sawdust

Do not compost meat, bones, fat, grease, dairy products, or pet waste.

TIP: For more efficient composting, cut large scraps into smaller pieces.

TIP: Use a carbon-charcoal filter container to collect household scraps. The filter eliminates odors.

2. When the collection container is nearly full, empty the scraps to the compost bin or pile.
   
3. Add a layer of leaves, grass clippings, and/or weeds from your yard. If not available, add straw.
   
4. Moisten and mix the compost pile every few weeks. Water the pile, then use a pitchfork or shovel to turn the compost so that oxygen reaches all ingredients to encourage decomposition.

TIP: To make sure there is sufficient moisture, examine a clump of the material.  It should be damp, but not soggy and drippy.

5. Adjust the proportion of compost ingredients by odor. The compost should have a good earthy smell. If the compost has an ammonia odor, add more carbon materials such as leaves and newspaper. If the compost smells foul, it is probably too wet and needs more dry materials such as leaves or straw.
   
6. Allow the compost materials to decompose before use. It should feel crumbly, look dark, and smell earthy. The process typically takes a few months, depending on ingredients. Do not use compost before it’s ready—the decomposing ingredients can attract pests.

Using Compost

1. Use compost as potting soil for plants, mulch around flower beds, base soil for vegetable gardens, or as topsoil or amendment when planting a new tree.
   
2. Save unused compost in an airtight container for spring or fall. Alternatively, premix it with soil for ready-use.

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