How Do You Make Compost?

How Do You Make Compost?

Making compost is easy. Just toss some leaves and some grass clippings in a pile. In a few years it'll turn into compost. Do you need it sooner than that? Oh well then there's a few things you can do to speed up the process.

First a good ratio of greens to browns is needed. 1 pound of greens to 30 pounds of browns is a good ratio. Too much brown and you'll have really slow compost. Too much green and your compost may start to smell. Sounds complicated doesn't it? Well it doesn't have to be. Compost whatever stuff you have on hand. If it starts to smell then add some hay or dried leaves. There are more complicated ways to figure out a optimal ratio based on the actual compost ingredients but we'll leave that to the rocket scientists. 30/1 is fine.

Greens
Grass clipping
Coffee Grinds
Garden waste (flowers, pine needles, etc.)
Kitchen waste (fruit & vegetable peels, tea bags, etc.)

Browns
Hay
Fallen leaves
Newspapers

Remember these composting tips:

Keep it wet but not too wet. Compost aficionados like to use the phrase, "As moist as a wrung out sponge."
Keep it aerated. If you stir your compost or turn it over with a pitchfork it will decompose faster than if you don't.
Keep the roots out. Trees love compost so much that they will direct their roots right up into your bin. You can place some landscape fabric on the bottom of your bin to avoid this.
Avoid meat and fat based ingredients. They will still compost but you'll attract rats and other pests. Just say no to chicken & other meat bones, butter, lard, roadkill, etc.

If you keep these rules in mind, you should have some fresh compost in a few months. If you don't follow these rules, you'll still have compost but it' ll take a lot longer.

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