How To Compost

Downloadable and Printable Compost Brochure

Why Compost?

IT’S GREAT FOR YOUR PLANTS!

Compost amends the soil and provides plants with nutrients.

IT’S GREAT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT!

It’s recycling like nature does. Composting decreases the amount of solid waste going into the landfills.

IT’S GREAT FOR YOUR POCKETBOOK!

You’ll save money on fertilizer & soil amendments.

BASIC COMPOST RECIPE

Ingredients:

•Brown Stuff (Carbon)

•Green Stuff Nitrogen)

•Air

•Water

Directions:

Put mixed yard trimmings in a bin or pile. Add water to lightly moisten. Mix in food scraps and other materials as generated.

Cook:

9-12 months (for faster compost, you can turn your pile every couple of weeks) Serve: After the allotted time, most of the material at the bottom of the pile will be dark, rich sweet smelling soil. Serve this rich soil to your yard and garden.

WHAT CAN I COMPOST?

Most yard and household waste can be composted. Some will add nitrogen to the pile (that’s the green stuff) and some that will add carbon to your pile (that’s the brown stuff)

GREEN STUFF

Fruit & vegetable peelings or scraps
Grass clippings
Coffee grounds (the filters, too)
Tea bags
Plant trimmings
Flower bouquets
Feathers
Spoiled juice
Cornstarch
Organic packing material
Pumpkin shells
Fresh leaves
Sod

BROWN STUFF

Fall leaves
Small twigs
Shredded paper
Shredded cardboard
Straw or hay
Sawdust and wood shavings
Corncobs and shucks
Dried flowers
Nutshells
Pine needles
Shredded junk mail
Shredded newspapers
Stale Flour
Napkins and paper towels
Dryer lint
Cardboard rolls
Dirt from your dustpan

ARE THERE THINGS I SHOULD LEAVE OUT OF MY COMPOST PILE?

Meat
Bones
Fish
Dairy products
Grease & oil
Pet droppings
Weeds with seeds
Grass Runners
Diseased or insect infected plants
Sawdust from treated wood
Ashes
Rose trimmings

TO BIN OR NOT TO BIN

Do I need a bin in order to compost?

You can make great compost in an open pile. In order to heat up enough to be efficient, make sure your pile is at least 3 feet wide by 3 feet tall.

One of the benefits of a container is that it helps keep pests out of the pile. When you add food waste to your compost pile, bury it. This will keep animals from being attracted to the food odor.