Compost: Pile it on!
Composting is a convenient and practical way of disposing of yard wastes such as grass, fallen leaves and small prunings. Most of what we call yard waste actually contains valuable nutrients that plants need for growth. Backyard composting mixes yard wastes into a pile with enough air and water to start the natural decaying process. The composting process yields a rich soil-builder for plants that can be mixed into gardens or placed around shrubbery and trees. Compost can also be mixed with water and used as a liquid organic fertilizer for your lawn.
- Choose a bin design
- Fill the bin
- Keep the pile going
- Do/Don't Compost
- What's Wrong?
- Make the most of your compost!
- Composting benefits
- Composting history
Composting is easy! All you need to compost is enthusiasm, yard or food waste, water, a shovel or pitchfork to “fluff” the pile, and some space. You don’t even need a bin to compost; however, a compost bin looks better, and allows for more effective decaying of materials.
Composting is a fun and educational family project. Follow these easy steps to start your home composting project today.
Choose a bin design
Although there are many types of compost bins available commercially, it’s easy to build one yourself out of basic materials such as chicken wire, snow fencing, scrap lumber, used shipping pallets, or bricks.
One of the simplest designs consists of a circular enclosure made of half-inch wire mesh, chicken wire, or snow fencing. Form the material into a 3-foot diameter circle and secure the ends.
The average compost bin should be 3 feet in diameter. Other bins can be bigger or smaller, based on the size of your yard.
Fill the bin
There are many ways to make good compost. We have included this basic recipe to learn from. You can start a compost pile anytime, but the proper mixture of “brown” and “green” material will prevent odor.
Place the organic material in layer cake fashion. Begin with a 6-inch layer of “browns” such as leaves, dead plants, straw and pine needles.
Add a 3-inch layer of “greens” such as grass, green weeds, barnyard manure and vegetable scraps. Next, add a 4-inch layer of garden soil. Add water to each layer so that the material feels like a moist, wrung out sponge.
Repeat layers until your compost pile is 4-5 feet high.
A properly made heap will heat up to 140 degrees in four to five days. You’ll notice the pile “setting,” a good sign that your heap is working properly.
Keep the pile going
Home composting works best under oxygen-rich conditions. After a few weeks, fluff your pile, mixing the old heap into a new pile. Add water as necessary. When you turn your pile, be sure to mix fully composted material with newer material.
A good rule of thumb for adding new material to the pile is mixing two parts “browns” such as fallen leaves, to one-part “greens” such as cut grass.
Mixing helps speed the compost process. Your compost pile should be several layers deep to encourage rapid, effective decomposition.
A pile started in late spring will be ready in the autumn. Start another then for used in the following spring.
Compost is ready to use when it looks dark and crumbly and none of the starting ingredients are visible. One way to test if your compost is finished is to seal a small sample in a plastic bag for 24 to 48 hours. If no strong odors are released when you open the bag, the compost is done.
Do compost |
Don’t compost |
| Leaves | Diseased plants |
| Grass clippings | Persistent weeds (poison |
| Weeds | ivy, bindweed, quackgrass) |
| Small or chipped prunings | Dog and cat feces |
| Spent garden plants | Meat |
| Fruit and vegetable waste | Dairy products |
| Coffee grounds and filters | Vegetables cooked with |
| Tea bags and egg shells | animal fats |
| Discarded house plants | Plants with seeds |
What’s wrong with my compost pile? |
||
Symptom |
Problem |
Solution |
| Compost has a bad odor | Not enough air | Turn pile, add carbon-rich materials such as leaves, old compost, or lime. |
| Center of pile is dry | Not enough water | Moisten while turning pile, add soil or old compost. |
| Compost is damp, warm in middle but nowhere else | Pile is too small | Add more material, mix old ingredients. |
| The pile is damp, fresh and sweet-smelling, but will not heat | Lack of nitrogen | Mix in nitrogen source such as grass, old compost, bone meal, blood meal or packed manure. |
| Natural activators for your compost pile such as lime, bone meal, alfalfa meal, cottonseed, and blood meal are available at lawn and garden stores.) | ||
Make the most of your compost!
Make compost quickly by adding other natural materials to your pile. Good additions are fresh grass and green plant materials, nitrogen-containing fertilizers and farm manure. Chopping or shredding materials to be composted will speed up the composting process. Use a tarp to cover the compost pile to help the pile retain moisture and heat during the winter months. This will also protect the pile from becoming too wet when it rains. If you detect ammonia or any other offensive odor, turn the pile immediately. A properly heating compost has no odor. Allow enough time for the organic materials to decay into a dark, crumbly substance. Compost that is not fully decomposed may cause nitrogen starvation when used on plants.
Composting benefits
By composting your yard waste you can avoid the trouble and cost of buying peat moss, bark mulch and bagged manure. It is an excellent soil additive, and a long-time gardeners’ friend.
Compost helps sandy soil hold water, loosens clay soil to increase drainage, and holds nutrients near plant roots where they are needed.
Composting makes a difference. Second only to paper, yard waste and organic kitchen waste make up the highest percentage of residential waste.
Composting history
The art of composting dates back to the early Greeks and Romans. The Arabs kept the science of composting alive during the Dark Ages, and it continued throughout the Renaissance. From Shakespeare’s Hamlet comes the line “spread the compost on the weeds, to make them ranker!”
In America, the value of composting was recognized by George Washington Carver. Today, knowledge and interest in the science of composting is increasing dramatically.
Whether an ancient art or a modern science, composting is a practical and environmentally sound gardening practice for you.
Have questions? Need more information? Call the OSU Extension Master Gardener line: 746-3701.