You say “composte,” I say compost!

But either way, I want to help you learn to make your own composte at home.

Here’s a rundown of the resources available on this site:

In a hurry? Learn How to Composte In One Page.

Still have questions about composting? Ask on our Composting Questions and Answers page.

Check out our Chart of Materials that you can and can’t use when composting.

Want to know Why to Composte? We’ve got a page for that too.

We love to get reader questions. Laura asks us the following:

“hi, thanks. I wonder about beans….are they like meat? i cook beans for two and inevitably have left over, can i compost? will they attract rats etc I live in the city…up til now i only am using raw fruit and veggie and grass leaves ….thanks (ex: pea soup, no oil, lental soup etc no oil). thank you”

Great question, Laura. The answer is: beans should be fine for composting. Here’s some rules of thumb though: it’s a good idea to bury kitchen scraps and food further down the pile and then put the leaves/grass clippings over them. You might want to follow this tact when composting your beans as well. This will ensure that they will have less of a chance of being subject to rodents and pests.

All in all, you should be fine. Thanks for your question, and hope this helps!

As we often get questions related to composting (and some great ones at that, by the way…you guys are on top of your game) – we try and answer them as soon as we can. A question we got recently comes from Joanne, who asks:

“Can you compost a canned vegetable product if the can is bulged and air escapes when opened?”

Great question, Joanne! You sure can’t eat it…that’s for sure. However, let’s say you’ve got a dented or swollen can (something that you’d throw away and not eat) – yes, you can compost it! You might want to throw it in the center of the pile, as to avoid rodents or pests digging into your compost. Basically, once oxygen is involved, the anaerobic bacteria will die off and the aerobic microbes from the compost will break everything down, and you should be fine.

If you’re really worried about it, you could always trench compost it – which is basically digging a hole, dumping it in there, covering it up, and then leaving it.

In all honesty, you will be totally fine with everything. Thanks, and hope this helps. Happy Composting!

In this Video, Lars answers a question from Lynn, one of our readers, concerning paper towels and compost piles. Lynn asked us the following:

It would be very nice if you can add information about paper towels that are compostable. You mentioned that brown material is good for adding to your composting, would the commercial brown paper towels used in washrooms can be considered as brown material as well? I was told by an Environmental company that the paper towels are also used to be spread on landfill to prevent the smell.

Thanks for your question, Lynn! To clarify, when we say “brown material” we aren’t necessarily talking about the color, we are talking about carbon-rich material. To answer the question though…yes, you can definitely recycle and compost paper towels – be it white ones, or even recycled, brown paper towels that you sometimes see in an office washroom.

You don’t want to compost any paper towels that you’ve gotten wet with chemicals, because this can harm your compost. But if it’s just a normal paper towel that you’ve gotten wet at some point, you can totally use it with your compost, that’s no problem at all!

Thanks again for reading, and thanks for your question! Hope this is a big help!

In the above video, Lars answers a question asked by another one of our readers, Heather. She asked us the following:

My husband’s grandmother had a beautiful vegetable garden. She just put leaves, newspaper, and vegetable scraps down the rows of her garden. She raked/tilled in under every few weeks. Is this a good idea?

Thanks for the question, Heather! Your husband’s grandmother is very wise – this is a legitimate method of composting – it’s known as trench composting, which is where you can dig a hole and place your organic materials in there. Cover it up, and it will break your materials down over time, and improve the quality of the soil. Famers have used this method of composting for hundreds, if not thousands of years…it’s a perfectly good way to compost.

So yes, it can be a great idea and has proven to work for years upon years. Thanks for your question and hope this helps!

Often, we get composting related questions. In this video, Lars answers a question from a reader in Austin, TX who asked:

I purchased a rectangular, black, plastic, compost bin but there were no instructions regarding how often I need to “turn” the compost. I live in Austin, TX, so I’m concerned about the combustibility of the contents during the hot summer months. Any tips?
Thanks!

What a great question!

First things first, how often you turn the compost is really up to you. If you want to be an active composter, you might want to turn your compost about every 3 days or whenever you take stuff out to the bin. You can mix your compost tool up with a pitchfork or even a specialized compost turning tool. There’s no right or wrong answer, because everything will break down over time.

As far as combustibility is concerned, there shouldn’t be a problem. As far as compost spontaneously combusting is concerned, that’s usually in regards to more of a municipal scale – for example to where you may have 5 yards by 5 yards of material piled really high. You probably won’t get temperatures over 120 or 130 degrees in the middle of your compost bin. In fact, in Austin, you may have more of a worry of your compost drying out. If this happens, you can always take the lid off when it rains, or you can add some water in there. Remember, you want your compost to have the texture, dampness, and feel of a rung-out sponge.

Hope this answers your question, thanks for reading!

Compost activator is not vital to the success of your compost pile – in other words, it will not make or break the final product. However, the truth remains that compost activator can certainly help out when it comes to composting. The main function of compost activator is simply to speed up the compost process.

Sounds great, but how does it do that?

Compost activator speeds up the composting process by using a combination of pH balances, energy sources, and microorganisms. Basically, you can buy compost activator (also called “compost accelerator”) by the bag, and then just add it to your compost pile. It’s that easy. You will notice that any organic matter that you have that is difficult to compost may break down a bit more quickly, and that once the rapid decomposition takes place, you are on your way to quicker compost.

As previously stated, it’s not entirely necessary when it comes to your compost, but it can certainly help speed up the process.

Where to buy compost activator

You can find compost activator at online stores like this one, and often at your local garden center.

So much like compost activator, compost starter is a great thing to have in your corner to speed up the compost process. It is not required for having that perfect compost when all is said and done – compost can still be produced without it. The fact remains though that it can be quite helpful.

Compost starter is typically a natural biological activator that really gets the compost going, and aids in the decomposition process. As a result, you can get to that sweet black gold in no time! Since it is all natural, it is 100 percent safe for the environment, and in some cases a little 4 ounce bottle can be used for up to 1,000 pounds of compost – so you can use it with ease.

If you are looking to speed up the decomposition process right from the get-go, then compost starter is where it’s at.

Composting at home is a simple task that is easy, and can bring many positive results in the end for your home or garden. The task may at first seem overwhelming or daunting – but have no fear, it’s quite simple.

Photo found on Flickr.com courtesy of Bookshelf Boyfriend.

When home composting, you can add things such as a Compost Pail to your kitchen. A compost pail will allow you to store food scraps while preparing food, so that you can take them out to the compost bin every few days.

When you take items out to the compost bin, you want to make sure that you have a proper balance of Nitrogen and Carbon rich materials. This means in addition to your food scraps, you want to have leaves, grass, newspaper clippings and items of the sort to aid in proper composting.

Your compost bin in the back could be as intricate as a store-bought tumbling composter, or as simple as a homemade bin created from wire and wood. The most important thing is that you are checking your compost, and turning it regularly. There are numerous books and websites (such as this one) that provide tips on home composting. In addition, there are tools such as compost thermometers to measure the moisture in your compost pile, and compost forks to make turning the compost a painless ordeal.

Photo found on Flickr.com courtesy of UrbanGarden.

Composting is a natural process, and is easy to do at home. All you have to do is take a little time out of your day to make sure there are the proper items in your compost pile, turn it occasionally, and let nature do the rest of the work. It’s simple, easy, and in the end you will have richer soil and more brilliant plant life than ever before!

Nitrogen Rich Materials Include:

Coffee Grounds
Photo found on Flickr.com courtesy of Macxoom.

 

Carbon Rich Materials Include:

Leaves
Photo found on Flickr.com courtesy of PatchworkPottery.

 

Not Recommended for Your Compost Pile:

Want to learn more? Be sure to visit our main composting page to get more details about home composting.