Why You Can Trust CNET A Beginner's Guide to Composting: Everything You Need to Know to Start a Pile
Composting has gone mainstream. If you're ready to pile on, we've outlined everything you need to know to start a compost system at home.
Composting is the most Earth-friendly way to dispose of food waste, and it's easy to get started.
Composting is a common way to reduce household food waste and lower your carbon output. As a bonus, composting creates rich fertilizer to serve as fuel for flower beds, new trees or a vegetable garden. Composting was once a fringe activity but the eco-friendly practice has gone mainstream with municipally mandated composting programs in many cities, private compost collection services and smart kitchen bins that turn food scraps into sweet-smelling dirt overnight and speed up that initial -- and rather smelly -- first step.
Composting is beneficial to the environment and your yard and garden. If you're thinking of starting a compost pile and don't know where to start, here are the basics to get a home composting system off and running.
Read more: Are Countertop Composters Worth It? I Calculated My Food Waste for a Week to See
What is composting?
Composting is a way to help food trash and other organic items decompose into a substance that can be used to alter the composition of soil so that it's more nutritious for plants. To start the composting process, certain bacteria activators are added to the organic material to create heat. The heat causes the organic material to decompose more quickly than it would out in nature.
Items that can be composted
Most organic food items can be composted, although some decompose much quicker than others.
- Fruit and vegetable peels
- Melon rinds
- Partially eaten apples
- Coffee grounds
- Grass clippings
- Leaves
- Beans and legumes
Some gardeners even add fish, meat, bones and dairy products to their compost. This is fine, unless you have a problem with rodents or raccoons. These foods create a strong smell that scavengers can't resist.
Some items that shouldn't go in a compost pile
- Cooking oil
- Very greasy foods
- Sugar or foods containing excess sugar
- Highly processed canned or packaged foods
- Certain house plants
Outside composting
There are two main ways of composting: outside and inside. First, let's take a look at outside composting.
Some gardeners prefer to have a compost pile in their yard. This is exactly what it sounds like. It is a pile layered with grass clippings, food bits, sticks and dead leaves.
The pile is started in a sunny area with a layer of twigs and sticks on the ground to help with airflow. Then, moist organic material (like food scraps or grass clippings) is layered with dry material, such as leaves, twigs and sawdust. That dry material is crucial because you don't want the compost to be too damp, which will cause foul odors and attract pests.
This type of composting takes some work because the pile will need to be turned (basically mixed up) every week or two using a pitchfork or compost aerator. The benefit is that it's basically free. The only items you need to purchase are a turning tool and some compost activator.
A layer of dry material, like leaves, is important to outdoor composting.
An easier outdoor solution is a compost tumbler, like the Yimby ($79) or this Miracle-Gro large dual-chamber compost tumbler ($130). Both of these consist of rotating barrels that you throw your yard and food waste into and then spin five to six times every two to three days. The spinning mixes the compost to encourage quick and even decomposition.
The same rules about wet and dry material apply; you need to keep the compost well-balanced so that it breaks down correctly. When choosing an outdoor system, also be sure to look for a unit that has many aeration holes to release gases caused by the food decomposing. A closed container can explode if too much pressure from gasses builds up.
Indoor composting
High-tech composters, like Whirlpool's Zera, can turn food scraps into compost in a matter of hours.
Indoor composting is almost foolproof with high-tech compost bins, like the Zera or the Food Cycler Platinum. With this type of unit, you just drop in the food scraps and compost activator. The unit uses heat and pressure to turn the scraps into fertilizer, usually within three to 24 hours. Some units can produce around 2 pounds of fertilizer for 8 pounds of food waste.
OK, I have decomposed compost, now what?
Once the food items are decomposed, it will look almost like woody dirt. You can sprinkle small amounts in house plants or till large amounts into a garden plot. You can also sprinkle it on your lawn or trees to make them healthier.
When you've exhausted your finished compost, you can continue the process by adding food scraps and yard waste to your pile or compost bin. A well-cared-for compost pile can give you compost for years to come.