If you are just beginning to homestead, you probably already know all about composting. It’s a great way to reduce your impact on the environment and to use up your resources to the fullest.
Even if you don’t have a garden, composting is a great way to get rid of “trash” and to help rejuvenate the soil.
In this article, I’ll tell you about all of the reasons why you should compost – and fill you in on a whopping 175 things you probably didn’t know you could compost.
Here’s what you need to know.
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Reasons to Compost
If you’re not sold on composting yet, here are some of the best reasons as to why you should get started.
- It reduces waste: Did you know that yard and food waste make up 30% of the country’s waste? If you’re able to compost these biodegradable ingredients, you can easily keep these out of the landfill and waterways.
- You can use fewer pesticides: Use compost on your lawn and garden, and you’ll have fewer pests. Why? Composts contain beneficial soil microbes that help support the soil instead of depleting it. A strong soil is more resistant to disease.
- Compost improves the soil. As a corollary to the point above, compost helps to build up your soil in a natural way. It encourages a balanced, gradual release of nutrients to fertilize and improve your soil.
- It can improve moisture retention. If you have heavy, clay soil or porous, sandy soil, compost can improve your structure over time. It will reduce the problems you have with too much mud in the spring and make it easier for you to grow a healthy garden.
- It improves the nutrient content of your food. Many people swear by purchasing organic food – while you can read here all about the reasons why organic is not necessarily always the best way to go, know that composting will help improve the nutrition of your food in a very natural way.
- It saves money. Instead of spending money on trash disposal fees and fertilizers, you can double up and save money by letting it break down on its own.
How to Compost
Composting isn’t difficult to do, but many people avoid it because they fear that it is a process that is far too complicated for the average homeowner. Not the case! You can compost in a large backyard bin or even a small vermicomposting bin in your basement.
You’ll need to start with a compost bin. There are plenty of options, including:
A vermicomposting bin, like this which will allow you to use Red Wiggler worms to do your composting for you indoors.
A compost tumbler like this if you think you are going to have trouble remembering to turn your bin – these are designed for outdoor use.
A traditional compost bin like this if you have plenty of space and just want the most basic system to get started.
You don’t have to run out and buy a bin, either! You can easily make your own out of old wood, pallets, or other materials you have lying around. You can even build your pile up on the ground and cover it with a tarp, or dig a trench and compost in the hole, too.
You should pick a good location for whichever system you choose. If you compost indoors, put your bin in a cool, dry location. If you’re composting outside, you’ll want a sunny spot that you can get to year-round.
Greens and Browns
Once you start composting, you will hear people talking about “green” and “brown” ingredients.
Green ingredients are things like vegetable scraps, garden waste, tea leaves, coffee filters, etc. These are rich in nitrogen.
Brown ingredients include things like dried leaves, straw, sawdust, woodchips, shredded paper, and twigs. These are high in carbon.
How to Start Composting
Once you have a few green and brown ingredients ready to be composted, you can get started. You will want to begin with a generous layer of brown ingredients on the bottom. Then, place a layer of green ingredients. You can alternate these layers, but you should use about three times as many brown ingredients as greens.
Remember, the smaller the material is, the more quickly it will break down. Large woody debris will take a long time to break down, while grass will decompose quickly.
It may behoove you to add a shovelful of soil when you are getting started, too. This will add some soil organisms to the pile and accelerate its decomposition.
You should keep your pile at a moisture content of 50%. You may need to put a lid on your compost to protect it from heavy rains or snowfall. You will also want to stir your pile every three to five days – or at least every week. This will keep the airflow and microbes moving so you have nutritious compost that can be used more quickly.
175 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Compost
- 100% cotton feminine products
- 100% cotton products like cotton balls, or paper Q-tips
- Acorn shells
- Alfalfa hay or pellets (usually fed to rabbits, gerbils, etc.) (B)
- Algae
- Animal carcasses (this will take a very long time and may attract pests, so be careful with this one)
- Apple cores
- Aquarium plants
- Ashes from untreated wood
- Avocado pits
- Bagasse
- Bamboo
- Bamboo skewers
- Banana Peels
- Bee droppings
- Beeswax
- Bird cage droppings
- Blood Meal
- Bone Meal
- Bread
- Burlap bags
- Business cards
- Cardboard boxes
- Cardboard egg cartons (you might want to cut them up so they break down more quickly)
- Cattails
- Cellophane bags (make sure it’s not plastic)
- Cereal
- Chewing gum
- Chicken bedding
- Chicken manure
- Chopsticks
- Christmas trees (chip them first)
- Cigar stubs
- Citrus rinds
- Clover
- Coconut milk
- Coffee filters
- Coffee grounds (G)
- Cooked pasta
- Corn cobs
- Corn husks
- Cotton fabric scraps
- Cow manure
- Crab shells
- Crackers
- Crepe paper streamers
- Crumbs
- Dead flies
- Dead houseplants (including the soil)
- Dead leaves
- Dry dog or cat food
- Dryer lint
- Dust bunnies
- Egg shells
- Elmer’s Glue
- Entire vacuum cleaner bags
- Envelopes
- Eraser rubbings
- Evergreen garlands
- Fallen bird’s nests
- Feathers
- Fish meal
- Fish pellets
- Flat soda
- Floor sweepings
- Flowers from your floral arrangements
- Freezer burned fruits and vegetables
- Fruit scraps
- Fur from the dog or cat brush (B)
- Garden snail shells
- Gauze
- Goat manure
- Granite dust
- Grass Clippings
- Greensand
- Ground cover
- Hair
- Hay bales
- Hayweed
- Hemp
- Herbs and spices
- Hoof and horn meal
- Hops
- Horse manure
- Ivory soap scraps
- Jell-O
- Juice boxes
- Kelp
- Kentucky bluegrass
- Latex balloons
- Leather
- Leaves from houseplants
- Leftover fish bait
- Limestone
- Linen bed sheets
- Lint
- Lobster shells
- Loose tea
- Matches
- Molasses
- Moldy cheese (in moderation)
- Moss
- Mushrooms
- Nail Clippings
- Natural potpourri
- Natural silk
- Newspapers
- Nori
- Nut Shells
- Oatmeal
- Old candy
- Old jelly, jam, or preserves
- Old rope and twine
- Old wine
- Olive pits
- Onion skins
- Organic tobacco waste
- Outdated seeds (make SURE they are outdated first!)
- Paper documents (yes, you can get rid of those bills!)
- Paper mache
- Paper plates
- Paper towel/toilet paper tubes
- Paper Towels
- Peat
- Pencil shavings
- Pickles
- Pine cones
- Pine needles
- Pizza crusts
- Popcorn kernels
- Popsicle Sticks
- Potash rock
- Potato peels
- Pretzels
- Produce trimmings
- Protein bars
- Pumpkins
- Rabbit, hamster, or gerbil droppings – do not use dog or cat feces
- Raffia
- Rawhide Dog Chews
- Razor trimmings
- Receipts
- Reptile cage lining and bedding
- Rice milk
- Roadkill (be careful, as this will take a long time)
- Sawdust
- Seaweed
- Sheep manure
- Shrimp shells
- Silkworm cocoons
- Sod
- Soy milk
- Spanish moss
- Stale beer
- Stale catnip
- Stale coffee beans
- Starfish
- Sunflower seeds or sesame seeds (you may want to chop them up first so they don’t sprout)
- Tea bags
- Tempeh
- Tissues
- Tofu
- Toothpicks
- Tree bark
- Twigs
- Used brewery grain
- Used masking tape
- Veggie scraps
- Vines (like grapevines)
- Weeds – you may want to heat some of them first to destroy weed seeds
- Wine Corks
- Winery wastes
- Winter rye
- Wool
- Yarn scraps
Is that enough inspiration for you to get started?
Make sure you are careful, though, about not trying to throw everything into your compost. Here are some things that should stay out of your compost bin and just go in the trash.
25 Things You Should Avoid Composting
- Plastic
- Glass
- Aluminum Foil
- Metal
- Coated papers
- Glossy papers
- Diseased plants
- Feces of carnivorous animals (chickens are okay, even though they’re omnivores)
- Sweet baked goods
- Meat
- Dairy
- Cooking oil
- Used feminine hygiene products
- Plants treated with herbicides
- Black walnuts
- Treated charcoal briquets
- Sawdust from treated wood
- Large branches (this won’t hurt anything, but will slow down composting)
- Synthetic fertilizers
- Milk products
- Invasive plants
- Poisonous plants
- Dyed or synthetic fabrics
- Metallic wrapping paper
- Greasy foods
So there you have it! What do you think – are you ready to start composting? Let me know how it goes in the comments section below!
Want to learn more about composting and gardening? Be sure to check out these articles!
- 23 Awesome Organic Fertilizer Ideas
- 18 Hacks for Eliminating Garden Weeds
- 10 Things You Need to Know About Growing Mint
- The Best Tips for Growing Chamomile in Your Garden
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