How To Make Compost At Home

how to compost at home

Composting at home can seem daunting. Questions such as; will it smell? or how long will it take to compost? are reasons why many households don’t even try.

With that said, composting at home is relatively easy when you break it down into simple steps. Better yet, the plants will love you for it.

In this article we are going to break down a few ways to compost at home, what to put in your compost, and much more. For more articles like this click here.

How To Make Compost At Home?

To make compost at home, you will need a 3:1 ratio of browns to greens and a place to pile your organic scrapes.

With the ratio, this means for every handful of greens you throw into your compost pile (tumbler, bin, or pile) then you will need to also add 4 handfuls of browns.

We explain things better further down this article

How Long Does It Take To Make Compost?

Hot compost takes between 4 – 6 months to make and cold compost takes 6 – 12 months to make.

What speeds up the process of composition is cutting your organic material into much smaller pieces, keeping the pile moist, mixing the pile up to add air, and adding a 4:1 ratio of browns to greens.

What Is Compost?

Compost is organic matter that has biodegraded or decomposed to the point where plants can use it as nutrients

This broken down material is essential to any garden. It adds nutrients to the plants/soil which encourages plant growth and is a great way to minimize waste.

What Are Composting Greens and Browns? What Can You Compost?

Composting greens are organic materials that produce nitrogen, protein, and heat in your compost pile. The greens help the microorganisms and bacteria multiply which causes the heating process.

Composting browns are organic materials that produce the carbon in your compost pile. This feeds the organisms such as earthworms, centipedes, mites, ants, beetles, snails, and sowbugs that help break down your compost pile.

Examples Of Composting Browns

  • Saw dust
  • Fall leaves
  • Pine needles
  • Broken down twigs, tree branches, bark (In small pieces)
  • Straw or hay
  • Corn stalks
  • News paper
  • Paper plates
  • Coffee filters
  • Napkins
  • Dryer lint
  • Cotton fabric
  • Cardboard

Examples Of Composting Greens

  • Coffee grounds & tea bags
  • Grass clippings
  • Fruit & vegetable scrapes
  • Trimmings from plants
  • Eggshells
  • Animal manure (rabbit, horse, chicken, cow, sheep. Do not add any dog or cat manure)
  • Seaweed

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to build a compost tumbler

How Do You Start A Compost Pile in 7 Easy Step

Step 1 – Place your organic kitchen food scraps into a compost bin, tumbler or pile

Step 2 – Add your brown materials to the top of the kitchen scrapes

Step 3 – Mix your browns and greens together.

Note – For every 1 handful of greens you add into your compost pile, add 4 handfuls of browns as well. This will eliminate any ammonia or rotten smell and is a good ratio to speed up the composting process.

Step 4 – After 2 weeks, turn your compost pile to allow oxygen to reach the decomposing material. This creates ideal conditions for everything to break down

Step 5 – Afterwards, every week, turn your compost pile to allow further oxygen to reach the decomposing material

Step 6 – Measure your compost and confirm it reaches between 90 – 150 F. Cold compost will be in an open pile with a lower temperature, hot compost will be in a bin or tumbler and reach the higher temperatures.

After it reaches these temperatures, this means it’s time to cool off and no more turning the compost pile.

Step 7 – The final process will be curing, this means letting your pile sit until it cools off which allows your compost to become rich in fungi, bacteria, and nutrients

How Much Compost Do I Need?

It is recommended that you add compost to your soil at home at least once a year. This will add essential nutrients to help your plants grow. Here is a list of how much compost you need:

  • Raised garden bed – No more than 30% compost in your soil mix
  • Containers & Pots – No More than 30% compost in your soil mix
  • Amending your topsoil – 1-2 inches of compost
  • Placing on the ground above your topsoil – ¼ to ½ inch of compost

How Do You Make Compost Tea in 3 Easy Steps?

Step 1 – Fill a container with distilled water. If you use tap water then let it sit for 24 hours for the contaminated to evaporate.

Step 2 – Add compost into the distilled water and let it mix for 24 hours

Step 3 – Filter out the compost if you choose to and poor over your plants

When Is Your Compost Ready?

The finished compost should smell earthy. For example go into a forest and smell around. That should be the smell of finished compost

What Is The Benefits Of Compost In Your Soil?

The main benefit of putting compost in your soil is having better plant growth. How does this happen? With compost, your soil has better drainage & water retention, added beneficial bacterias and fungi, enriched nutrients in the soil, and help prevent plant diseases & pests.

Furthermore, you will reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills and give your plants life without the use of chemical fertilizer.

Conclusion

Whether you have space or are just cautious about composting, we hope this article has convinced you to try it out. It’s easy and you get better as you go. For more information subscribe to our YouTube channel: “Devin The Gardener“