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If you’d like to learn more about the entire composting process in a quick and easy 41 pages, check out my book, How To Compost: Everything You Need To Know To Start Composting, And Nothing You Don’t!
How much sun should the compost pile get?
I purchased the CompoSpin, which is 28″ and holds 50 gallons. So it is kind of big, but has a very hip look to it. Unfortunately I live in a condo association & apparently they frown upon my compost bin in MY garden. I have a screened in back patio I can put the compost bin on and the association really cant say anything about it.
Is it wise to put the compost bin on my patio? Will i need to worry about it attracting rodents, etc into my patio/house?
Also will the composting process work even though the bin in behind a screen on a patio?
Any advise will work. Also this is my 1st attempt at composting, so advice/tips/trick (or a link to a “how to” website would be great
We are starting a community garden,with compost pile.
The local grocery will give us produce that would be thrown away.
If the vegetables are not organically grown, will the pesticide
residue build up in our compost? Thanks
What about fabric scaps and dryer sheets?? Can you add those to the compost?
This has been a great site!! Thank you!!
Pam
I have a lot of pine tree needles.I know that for some reason you should not put them in the compost pile.Is that true?
hi,
my compost bin has attracted a very large number of tiny flies,
are they harmful to the compost,is there anything i can do about them because they are also feeding on some of my herbs,
jim,
Question: Is it okay to add kefur culture to compost bin? It grows in milk.
This may be an unrelated question, however I hope you folks will be able to help us out. Our dairy is currently operating a methane digester which creates a biosolid product, among others. Due to the reactions inside the digester, the manure solids become pathogen and seed free. In the near future, we hope to bag this produce for sale at a local store. How can we prep these solids before the bagging process, in order to produce a high quality product?
Thanks for your time,
Keith
My leaves and grass go through a double shredding process — once through my mower and then through a separate shredder attached to my lawn tractor that feeds into a barrel. I line the barrel with a 55-gallon plastic bag. My questions:
1. If I keep the double-shredded leaves and grass in the plastic bag, does the self-contained bag act as an effective compost “bin”?
2. A sealed plastic bag or bin would certainly generate more heat than one that is aerated. How important is it to allow air into the compost bin?
Hi, this is probably a silly question but I’m new to composting (and gardening). If you use compost as a mulch do you end up with more weeds in the garden bed?
HI, my questions: First, is it good/better to have a good variety of items to compost? Just wondering… and, is it good to add store bought manure? Lastly, I couldn’t find your answer to Brad’s question about composting cooked veggies. I do it all the time!?! what is your opinion?
THANKS! — I really like this site.
Which will work better for composting, fruits or vegetables? Why?
I am attempting to compost in my garden throughout the cold Colorado winter, as I hate to see kitchen scraps go to waste!
I insulated my black square plastic Composter with bubble wrap, wood, logs and bags of leaf-fall in an attempt to keep whatever’s inside active during snowy periods. It gets plenty of sunlight all day long.
When I took out my last batch of kitchen waste, I was amazed at how many small (fruit?) flies were in and around the composter – it was virtually swarming with them. Is this a good thing? I have a large proportion of apples in there, rotting down after falling from our apple tree. I have tried to balance this with dry leaves and paper as well as fruit/veg from the kitchen. I have mixed and aerated the contents a couple of times in recent weeks.
Do I need to do anything else over the winter, and are these tiny pesky flies a friend or a foe?
Thanks for your help!
Karen
What would you recommend for composting cow manure and sawdust (solids only) which have been run through a methane digester?
I am seeking a formula that can be used to equate kilograms (pounds) of compost to the amount of organic material diverted from landfill. I recognize this would only be an estimate. We are running two Nature Mill indoor compost units and since June 2010 have produced 130.815 kilograms (288.398 pounds) of compost. I am wondering what weight of organic material was diverted to create this compost.
I’ve recently purchased an enclosed compost bin from Sams Club, that I have used all summer. Previously I had an open fencing type one. This new one doesn’t seem to be working as quickly as the open faced one was. Is that a normal process, the contained one is slower at working? I prefer the open fenced one, over the closed bin type. Any tips on speeding up the process? It seems I’m doing the same thing to both bins. Thanks so much for you help.
Happy New Year 2011! My composting has been going great. Using shredded leaves from the trees in our yard for browns, kitchen scraps for greens and also bringing in a lot of coffee grounds from the office. In the winter a lot of our kitchen scraps are Texas grapefruit peels. My question: does using a lot of coffee grounds and grapefruit peels mean that the compost is acidic? If we use this compost in a flower bed where we plant annuals, or in a vegie garden, so we need to add something for Ph balance? Thanks for letting me know.
@Larry
In general, the pH of finished compost takes care of itself and will usually go back to neutral. So I don’t think you will need to worry about it.
Here’s another source that confirms this:
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/Compost/FAQ.htm
Haven’t seen my question get posted yet. Does compost made with heavy doses of coffee grounds and grapefruit peels (along with lots of leaves…) get acidic enough to require me to add something else to the soil if I am mixing the compost into a flower bed?
Does compost made with leaves (for carbon) and heavy doses of coffee grounds and grapefruit peels become so acidic that I need to be thinking about the PH of the flower bed soil where I use the compost?
Hi. Can I put chinchillas waste in a compost or red worm composting?
@Ed
Yes, I think chinchilla waste would be safe for the compost bin, and worm bin too.
Thanks so much for your helpful, informative advice!!
Can you pour Honest Ade into a compost bin? The ingredients for the Superfruit Punch is: Purified water, organic cane sugar, organic pear juice concentrate, organic white grape juice concentrate, organic strawberry juice concentrate, organic berry flavor, organic purple carrot juice concentrate, organic yumberry concentrate, organic cranberry juice concentrate, organic goji berry extract, and citric acid.
The ingredients sound pretty safe for the compost bin. What do you think?
@Kenny
If you’re talking about limited quantities, then I’d say no problem. If you mean 50 gallons, then it might be a totally sticky mess, but still probably wouldn’t hurt anything.
Can I use the left over barley from home beer brewing as brown material in my compost?
@Diane
Yes, you can use it. The only thing you want to look out for is the problem that can come up with composting any type of material. If you have too much of one thing, it can slow down the composting process. So I’m assuming this will be a small part of your overall composting, and not the main ingredient.
But barley is a nitrogen rich material and not a carbon rich material.
What about the stuff out of the vacuum cleaner? I’ve read that you can use that in your compost – do you agree? If so, would this be a brown or a neutral?
The MAJORITY of what would come out of mine would be people hair, cat hair, maybe some thread, food crumbs (I vac my kitchen floor) – along with the obvious dirt, dust, dust bunnies, etc. What do you think?
Thanks!
Genny
Another question for you – this is nasty. My husband dips tobacco.
He spits into a cup filled with paper towels, when he’s done with the tobacco, then spits the little wad of dip into the cup.
Can I compost this nastiness?
I know I can compost paper towels, and I’ve read you can compost tobacco – but what about tobacco as dip since it’s been flavored with wintergreen or spearmint or whatever flavor it is?
Sorry, I’ve posted about pee, spit, and remnants from my vacuum cleaner all in the same day. Ew.
Thanks!
Genny
@Genny
I’ll go for all three at once.
1. Vacuum cleaner lint is probably mostly neutral, with a hint of carbon. (Ha ha, but that’s seriously my best guess.) I think it’s okay to add as a relatively small percentage of your compost. You might end up with some small pieces of plastic and things like that. But if you can live with it, it probably won’t hurt anything.
2. Pee has nitrogen in it. So yes, you can pee on your compost as a nitrogen source. But not all compost starter is *just* nitrogen. This stuff, for example, isn’t really even a nitrogen source at all. It uses enzymes. http://www.cleanairgardening.com/biowish-compost-booster.html Compost starter or accelerator, in general, is optional and not necessary to composting. I use that Biowish stuff in my bins and I like it, but if I ran out for a year, I wouldn’t sweat it.
3. I think the tobacco dip would be fine to compost too. If it’s safe enough to put in your mouth (which is questionable!), then it’s okay for the compost pile.
I keep thinking of more questions!
1-I have a bag of potatoes under the sink that I forgot about. They are sprouting. Compost or not? 5 lbs of potatoes, wasted.
2-Hubby heard on NPR just this weekend that you should not compost leftover tomato parts or potato peels. I can’t find any info to back this up, but he is adamant that that is what he heard.
I just bought my first compost bin yesterday and will put it out today. I have some old pine straw, few leaves, and kitchen waste ready to go. My kitchen wasted includes all the potato peels from last night’s dinner. To use or not?
Thanks so much – I think that’s all my questions for now!
Genny
One more question.
Hubby and I own a sign company. We produce a fair amount of sawdust. Cedar, redwood, and pressure treated. Can we use these in our compost pile?
Thanks again,
Genny
Should cooked legumes be added to compost pile?
@ P. Howard
It’s fine to add cooked legumes. It’s better to bury it deeply in the pile though, because it smells like food to pests and can attract them.
We built our first compost bin last fall using four pallets and some chicken wire. We started it with leaves and have added kitchen wastes all winter – egg shells, vegetable peeings, citrus peel, coffee grounds with the brown paper filters – but it isn’t doing anything. The food wastes we added two months ago apper to be in perfect condition with zero sign of breaking down. Today we turned it again, added lime and watered it well. It was bone dry. We have had a ton of snow this winter but we have kept the top of the composter covered; the sides are exposed and there is good air circulation. There is no smell, no insects, and – sadly – no compost activity. We felt the addition of lime might help but from what we have now read we may have made our problem even worse. We have ash we can add to it from our newspaper, junk mail, etc. and egg cartons that we burn and of course we can add garden soil. We do not use commercial fertilizer or any pesticides in our garden. Can you offer any suggestions. We really were looking forward to having compost material to add to our garden this year. Thank you.
@Nancy
If nothing seems to be happening at all when you are composting, it’s usually either way too much carbon rich materials without enough nitrogen rich materials, or it’s because the materials are too dry, or both.
“Bone dry” seems to be the phrase that sticks out.
I would keep adding water to it if it is dry, and keep it mixed once or twice per week. And keep adding vegetable scraps and coffee grounds as quickly as you can obtain them. You can sometimes get free coffee grounds at local coffee shops or Starbucks by calling and asking, and those are nitrogen rich.
Leaves are extremely carbon rich and dry, so it can take a lot of water and nitrogen rich materials to keep the pile moist enough and in balance.
I don’t like adding things like lime or ash to compost piles and trying to mess with the pH. I wouldn’t necessarily say that you have to throw out what you’ve started with. But don’t add any more lime or ashes to it for sure.
Ps. Our soil is extremely lime-deficient according to the soil samples analyzed by the Co-op Extension Service here in North Carolina. We have to add lots of it every season.
I have an indoor worm composting bin in a single layer plywood box with plenty of room for oxygen. I’m wondering why I find my worms in large wads together. Can you tell me? Thanks so much.
Two questions:
1. I know that you can use egg shells for composting but what about the egg itself? I heard somewhere that protein was not good to compost.
2. Pet waste is discouraged but what about rabbit droppings? Can rabbit waste be used in a compost heap?
Thank you.
@Jeanne
The problem with composting the eggs themselves is that they become rancid and stink, and they will also attract rodents and pests. So it’s a practical matter more than anything else.
Rabbit droppings come from a herbivore, so they are okay.
We use a 100% ground corn cat litter (The World’s Greatest Cat Litter) for our cats. Would this cat litter, sans the cat poop but with the cat pee, be okay to use in the compost? We anxiously await your reply to our January 30th inquiry and of today. Thanks for your help.
@Nancy
It sort of depends. I’d say that you could probably compost it that way, but it is not entirely risk free. Cat poop can be dangerous, and if there is any risk of small amounts of cat poop going into your compost bin, that’s not a good thing.
If you’re sure it’s all corn litter and just pee, and you’re not using the finished compost on edible crops, you could probably get away with it. I probably wouldn’t do it myself though. There’s also the issue of overloading your compost pile or bin with too much corn litter, and too much of any one ingredient is always a disadvantage.
Iars – Happy Valentine’s Day! We wrote to you on January 30th about our composting attempts. If you have the time, would you please answer those questions for us? We are very anxious to correct any mistakes we have made and have compost ready for our garden this spring. It appears we will have an early spring here in southwest North Carolina (the Robins are back) and we know we have some work to do on our compost. Thank you.
I due a lot of juicing fruit and vegs. my drum is full of fruit flies.How do I rectify this problem?
@bob
Fruit flies in your compost isn’t a problem, per se. It doesn’t affect how the compost breaks down.
They can be annoying though. The “solution” is to bury all fruit and vegetable scraps deeper into your bin or pile so that they are not easily accessible by the fruit flies.
Hi
I have had a couple of compost bins for about 15 years. In all that time I have thrown in my kitchen fruit and vegetable scraps and nothing else at all (no bread, cooked food, no newspapers, etc, ie nothing at all accept fruit and veg) with the exception only of once or twice throwing in a bag of leaves swept up from our driveway. I have never turned or stirred the compost. It continues to break down as the bins have never been too full and our family of 5 uses lots of fruit and vegetables, more than most people. I have assumed the compost is anaerobic.
Yesterday I decided to use some of the compost on the garden. I raised the side of the bin and found, at the bottom, black, moist soil and lots of worms on the outside of the compost up against the side of the bin. I took it to a nursery and they tested the PH and it was very alkaline (at the end of their testing scale). I assume this is because all the fruit and veg is very alkaline. Is this correct?
My garden soil also tested as just as alkaline. So now I need to adjust the soil and compost to make them more acidic. I don’t want to use sulphur or any chemicals or additives. Could I just add more leaves or some straw to make the compost more acid?
Do fruit and vegetables make alkaline compost and leaves make acidic compost?
I would appreciate any help you can offer.
Anne
@Anne
I did a bit of searching, and it looks like the alkaline compost is related to the fact that you compost anaerobically.
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/fundamentals/biology_acid_alkalinity.htm
I don’t have any personal experience trying to change the pH of my soil. But here are some reputable resources about the subject:
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1994/4-6-1994/ph.html
One thing I would do is ask around and see if the soil in your area is naturally alkaline anyway. If it is typical of the soil in your area, then it really isn’t a big problem.
Thanks Lars
I am still confused. I spoke to a composting expert today in my city and he questioned the validity of the PH test saying they were often incorrect if the were old or had been heated to much. He said that although fruit and vegetables are alkaline they become acidic during the fermentation process during composting so my compost should be acidic.
He also told me he didn’t think it would be anerobic as I had worms in my compost and it didn’t smell bad.
So my big question now is really do you think fruit and veg would produce alkaline or acid compost?
Thanks
Anne
@Anne
There’s “anaerobic composting” and there’s “cold composting” which are technically different. You were probably cold composting — where the materials broke down into compost over time, but didn’t heat up like a traditional active compost bin. You get the same end result, but it takes longer.
As I mentioned before, I don’t really worry about pH levels. I think it’s probably not an issue. And I don’t really know if or how a large amount of fruits and vegetables would affect pH levels.
What the local person said is probably true that the pH test could be inaccurate.
Why don’t you just try using it in a particular area of your yard or garden and watching it? Once you’re convinced it has improved your soil quality and hasn’t hurt anything, then you can use it everywhere else too.
I don’t really buy the whole “change your soil’s pH level” thing anyway. Soil in a particular area has a natural pH level, and anything you do to try and change it will only be temporary anyway. It will slowly revert back to the natural pH of that area.
I hope this isn’t an ignorant question, but I am just learning about composting and other sustainable practices in a class I am taking. Is it feasible for a city to run a compost-pile? Or would it be too large scale? Have you heard of any city-run composts? What do you think of the idea? My thinking is for those who are willing to compost but don’t have the need for the compost. The city might be able to make a market out of it, thereby reducing the city resident’s tax bases? This idea may be out of left field, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks!
@Kayla
It isn’t an ignorant question at all.
In fact, that kind of thing does exist. Here’s an example:
http://www.plano.gov/Departments/Environmental%20Services/YardDebris/Texas_Pure/Pages/default.aspx
I live in Dallas, and I bought an entire dump truck load of compost from the nearby city of Plano for my lawn, because you can also buy it from them in massive quantities, cheap.
Not sure why more cities don’t do this, but I believe that there are quite a few that do.
I read somewhere that I could also compost rice and pasta. Is this right? I am new to composting. Thanks!
@Linda
Yes, you can compost rice and pasta. Be sure to put it deeper into the compost pile or bin, to avoid attracting pests.
Hello!
I am helping with a project to get composting started in the dorm kitchens at my college and need more information about any health hazards there are to indoor composting. I cannot seem to find any reliable sources that talk about any health hazards except if you compost animal waste or dairy products. Do you have any more information on this so that I can get these bins into the kitchens??
Thank you!
@Chelsea
How did you plan to compost indoors, exactly? It seems feasible to collect the materials from dorm kitchens, but I don’t think you’d want to compost them inside. Composting indoors would cause bad smells and potentially attract rodents. Other than using that NatureMill indoor composter, which is really only designed for family use, there aren’t a lot of options for composting indoors, unless you were planning to worm compost or Bokashi compost.
You might look into Terracycle. http://www.terracycle.net/histories That company was started by a guy at Princeton who began by composting dorm cafeteria scraps on a large scale using worm composting.
I have a layered pile that is contained by metal posts and chicken wire. I was wondering if I layering correctly is enough to get the breakdown of the materials or do I need to turn the pile often?
@shan
The answer to this, like the answer to most composting questions, is that “it depends.”
Yes, you’ll certainly get finished compost if you just layer it well and keep it moist and leave it alone. But the real question is how fast do you want your finished compost? By turning and aerating every few weeks, I think you’ll probably get finished compost faster.
I personally don’t care so much about speed, as long as I have room to continually add more materials to my compost bin. So if you’re like me and speed isn’t very important to you, then I think you should be fine if you don’t want to mess with turning the pile.
It’s impossible to say how much faster it would compost if you turn it, by the way. Too many variables to even want to make a guess. I’m thinking that if you’re already layering it well, then you’re probably going to get decent speed and results from that.
I am new at composting, I started last summer and have not put anything in the bin since December. Should I empty the compost into the garden that is in there now before I start adding my scraps and material this year?
@Nancy
It depends. Is the material that is in the bin now completely finished compost? When compost is completely done, it really looks like rich, fertile, crumbly earth. If you can still see individual parts (like coffee filters, banana peels, orange peels), then it probably isn’t completely finished yet.
If you put unfinished compost into your garden, it can “heat up” and burn your garden plants’ tender new roots as the compost finishes in the garden.
So I’d probably just keep adding this year’s material to the same bin if I were you. As long as you aren’t worried about running out of space in the bin, this is probably your best bet.
Last fall we moved to a new home with a wood-burning stove. We routinely added these to our compost pile over the winter, not realizing that ashes are best used in limited quantity. Is there a recommendation for neutralizing its negative effects? i.e. should I add pine needles or other acidic substances? We added a bucket of ashes about once a week. There are quite a lot of coffee grounds in the pile, also, along with a lot of leaves, and some kitchen scraps. Thanks.
@Sandi
Pine needles take forever to break down, so I wouldn’t add too many of those.
I’m not really sure what to suggest. I’d be very hesitant to use it if it were me.
I found this resource that has some good information about ashes in general. But I don’t think I’d recommend just adding something that is acidic and considering it fixed.
Sorry that I don’t have an answer other than discarding it completely to be safe!
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=34&storyType=garden
New to composting, having issues. Would love some of your great advice.
Built two bin wooden Composter with removal top. Three sides enclosed, one open. (@40″x40″x40″)
I have a large amount of leaves and dead grass clippings, all browns.
Limited supply of greens.
I started with layers of leaves and grass. Nothing much happened, so I added a mixture of alphalpha and water when layering the second time. Its winter here in Virginia, so didn’t expect a lot to happen. I have mixed it three times in the last month. After the second stirring I added water for moisture (damp sponge). Now, I see some breakdown but also seeing some white residue in the pile. (is this mold and is this a pile killer or is this from the alphalpha mixture?)
How do I determine when the pile is completed and am able to start another pile, I have plenty of leaves waiting. And how much of the completed pile should remain when starting another pile? (mix this in as a layer or two?)
I do not want to spend $10 bucks on nitogen source (alphalpha), have a limited supply of other greens. When catching grass clippings how long are they classified as greens?
I’ve been juicing and have lots of wet pulp, filling up bins quickly. I’m using layers of newspaper and sawdust but am worrying that it is generally too work. Couple of years ago I had a ‘toxic waste’ bin, but so far no smell. Anyone else dealt with this?
Can you put biodegradable packing peanuts in compost
I have never composted before, but i have an old apple bin that i am not using. Could i use that for my ‘compost pile’ ?
How often do you stir or rotate your compost?
@Goose
Assuming that the apple bin has some kind of drainage where it won’t fill up with water or liquid, then it will work fine as a compost bin. If it has some holes for aeration, it will work even better.
You can mix your compost as often as every few days, or as little as never if you don’t want to mess with it. It just takes longer that way. Once every week or two is probably plenty.
How long before planting seeds in the garden should you work in the compost from the compost bins?
Also, what time should you add steer manure or chicken manure before planting?
@G.Richard Winterstein, I typically add my finished compost to my garden the same week I plan on planting. Assuming you plan to mix the steer manure or chicken manure with the existing soil you can add it a week or two before planting. This way you will not burn your seeds or seedlings.
I’ve done kitchen composting for a while, but have recently moved to a building without a garden, which is where I used to utilize my finished compost material. Can you recommend some ideas for what to do with the end material now that I don’t have my own yard? I’ve already used as much as I can on house plants, and my neighbors plants. I’m worried about “guerrilla fertilizing” trees and plants in public areas, as the borough I live in is very particular about its public works.
@Judy, You could bag it up and give it to co-workers or try selling it.
our house was just tented for termites and our compost bin was left under the tent. Is the compost destroyed and toxic now?
@justina, It’s likely ok, but you should check with your pest control company to be sure.
I have a question not a comment, bit still hope to get an answer. I bought a compost bin and started composting for the first time. I started 1/22/11 and included the following: lots of shredded dry leaves, lots of kitchen scaps of fruits & vegetables. couple bags of dog food, egg shells, a little compost accelerator, wood chippings, some newspaper & cardboard and a few shovels of soil. I turned it over as best I could in the bin once or twice every week. It worked fine at first, heating up and shrinking down from almost a full bin to about half. No flies, no bad scent. Now it is apparently not breaking down anymore. It does not heat up even though I continue to keep the compost moist. I do not have the crumbly rich earth that I hear about. I can still see remants of leaves although everything else seems to have broken down. What do I need to do? I want to plant soon. Thanks for your help.
@Kellman
Sounds to me like you might not have enough nitrogen rich materials in there, and you need more to balance out all those carbon rich leaves and finish things up. When things don’t heat up, that usually indicates either finished compost, too dry, or not enough nitrogen. It’s not quite finished and you’re keeping it moist, so that’s why I think more nitrogen.