Landscapers

Vegetable scraps ready for the compost bin

Composting is full of benefits for you, the environment and your wallet. Here are some ways to make your own compost, which can be a fun and rewarding process. Simply follow the steps below as recommended by the United States Environmental Protection agency (EPA) and you will be on your way to becoming a home composter. Need some additional tips? Find a local landscaper who can help you with any composting needs.

Some Considerations

Composting your recyclable materials at home is useful for making small quantities of compost. If you live on a farm or have lots of land available to make your own compost, you can expand your composting to larger quantities. Composting can be done indoors or outdoors, depending on the amount of space you have and your personal preferences.

The Three Ingredients of Composting

• Browns such as dead leaves, branches, twigs
• Greens such as grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps and coffee grounds
• Water

The Recipe

The recipe for composting is not an exact science. It’s important to have the proper combination of browns, greens and water so that the compost will develop properly. The proper combination is to use equal amounts of the browns, greens and water, and then alternate layers of organic material. When choosing organic materials for your compost pile, use a variety of materials, making sure to use materials with different-sized particles.

How to Create Compost Outdoors

As detailed by the EPA, there are several ways to compost. Here is a method for outdoor composting:

1. Select a dry, shady spot near a water source for your compost pile or bin.

2. Add your brown and green materials as you collect them, making sure that larger pieces are chopped or shredded.

3. Moisten dry materials as they are added.

4. Once your compost pile is established, mix grass clippings and green waste into the pile and bury fruit and vegetable waste under 10 inches of compost material.

5. Optional: Cover top of compost with a tarp to keep it moist.

6. When the material at the bottom is dark and rich in color, your compost is ready to use (this is usually occurs anywhere from two months to two years).

How to Create Compost Indoors

The first step to creating compost indoors is to make a compost bin, which can be easily made from two plastic garbage cans, one large and one smaller.

1. Make your own compost bin by making holes in the bottom and sides of the large plastic garage can. Then place a brick in the bottom of the can and surround the brick with a layer of wood chips or soil. Then place the smaller can inside the large can, on top of the brick. The last step is to wrap insulation around the outer can to keep the compost warm and to cover the cans with a lid.

2. Place the organic materials in the bin in the manner described above.

The indoor composting process is much quicker; the compost will be ready in approximately two to five weeks.

Recommended Compost Materials

• Animal (cow or horse) manure
• Cardboard rolls
• Clean paper
• Coffee grounds and filters
• Cotton rags
• Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
• Eggshells
• Fireplace ashes
• Fruits and vegetables
• Grass clippings
• Hair and fur
• Hay and straw
• Houseplants
• Leaves
• Nutshells
• Sawdust
• Shredded newspaper
• Tea bags
• Wood chips
• Wool rags
• Yard trimmings

What Not to Compost

• Make sure you leave these materials out of your compost to prevent odor, rodents and bugs.
• Black walnut tree leaves or twigs
• Coal or charcoal ash
• Dairy products (e.g., butter, egg yolks, milk, sour cream, yogurt)
• Diseased or insect-ridden plants
• Fats, grease, lard, or oils
• Meat or fish bones and scraps
• Pet wastes (e.g., dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter)
• Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides