Composting At Home

Compost is organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. Food scraps and yard waste currently make up 20 to 30 percent of what we throw away, and should be composted instead. Making compost keeps these materials out of our local incinerators.

All composting requires three basic ingredients:

Browns – This includes materials such as dead leaves, branches, and twigs.
Greens – This includes materials such as grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds.
Water – Having the right amount of water, greens, and browns is important for compost development.
Your compost pile should have an equal amount of browns to greens. You should also alternate layers of organic materials of different-sized particles. The brown materials provide carbon for your compost, the green materials provide nitrogen, and the water provides moisture to help break down the organic matter.

What to Compost

Fruits and vegetables
Eggshells
Coffee grounds and filters
Tea bags
Nut shells
Shredded newspaper
Cardboard
Paper
Yard trimmings
Grass clippings
Houseplants
Hay and straw
Leaves
Sawdust
Wood chips
Cotton and Wool Rags
Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
Hair and fur
Fireplace ashes

What Not to Compost and Why

Black walnut tree leaves or twigs – Releases substances that might be harmful to plants
Coal or charcoal ash – Might contain substances harmful to plants
Dairy products (e.g., butter, milk, sour cream, yogurt) and eggs – Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
Diseased or insect-ridden plants – Diseases or insects might survive and be transferred back to other plants
Fats, grease, lard, or oils – Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
Meat or fish bones and scraps – Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
Pet wastes (e.g., dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter) – Might contain parasites, bacteria, germs, pathogens, and viruses harmful to humans
Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides – Might kill beneficial composting organisms

Benefits of Composting

Enriches soil, helping retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests.
Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
Encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter to create humus, a rich nutrient-filled material.

How to Compost at Home

There are many different ways to make a compost pile; we have provided the following for general reference. Helpful tools include pitchforks, square-point shovels or machetes, and water hoses with a spray head. Regular mixing or turning of the compost and some water will help maintain the compost.

Backyard Composting

Select a dry, shady spot near a water source for your compost pile or bin.
Add brown and green materials as they are collected, making sure larger pieces are chopped or shredded.
Moisten dry materials as they are added.
Once your compost pile is established, mix grass clippings and green waste into the pile and bury fruit and vegetable waste under 10 inches of compost material.
* Optional: Cover top of compost with a tarp to keep it moist. When the material at the bottom is dark and rich in color, your compost is ready to use. This usually takes anywhere between two months to two years.

Indoor Composting

If you do not have space for an outdoor compost pile, you can compost materials indoors using a special type of bin, which you can buy at a local hardware store, gardening supplies store, or make yourself. Remember to tend your pile and keep track of what you throw in. A properly managed compost bin will not attract pests or rodents and will not smell bad. Your compost should be ready in two to five weeks.

Build Your Own Indoor Bin

Drill half-an-inch diameter holes in the bottom and sides of a plastic garbage can. The size of the garbage can depends on how much compost you’d like to make.
Place a brick in the bottom of a larger garbage can, surround the brick with a layer of wood chips or soil, and place the smaller can inside on top of the brick.
Wrap insulation around the outer can to keep the compost warm and cover the cans with a lid.

How To Use Compost: Now that you have created compost from you kitchen waste here are some of the best ways to use the compost in your landscaping.

For Trees & Shrubs

Establishment: Excavate a planting hole slightly shallower and 2 to 3 times the width of the root ball or container. Set the root ball on firm soil so that the top of the root ball sits slightly higher than the final grade. Uniformly blend compost with the excavated soil at one (1) part by volume compost to 2-3 parts by volume soil. Compost with higher amounts of salts and nutrients should be used at lower rates (e.g. 1:3 or 1:4 parts compost to soil). Backfill and firm the soil blend around the root ball within the planting hole. Always water thoroughly after planting. It should be noted that whenever possible, trees and shrubs should be planted in a mass planting bed, where multiple plants are established in a larger amended bed. This technique allows for greater planting success.

Lower compost application rates should be used for salt sensitive crops (e.g., conifers), or where composts possessing higher salt and nutrient levels are used, while higher application rates may be used for plants that require greater amounts of fertility.

Maintenance: Apply a coarser compost mulch (1” – 2” screened) over the garden bed to conserve moisture, for weed suppression and/or for aesthetic purposes. Note: The nutrients contained in compost should be considered when applying fertilization. They will typically offset plant nutrient requirements, thereby potentially reducing fertilizer application rates.

For Flower & Vegetable Gardens

Establishment: Compost should be uniformly applied over the entire area at an average depth of 1-2 inches and then incorporated to a depth of 6-8 inches using a rotary tiller or other similar equipment. Higher application rates of compost may be used if the compost is incorporated to a greater depth. Rake the soil surface smooth prior to seeding or planting. The soil surface should be free of large clods, roots, stones, and other material that will interfere with planting. The amended area should be watered thoroughly after planting.

Lower compost application rates may be necessary for salt sensitive crops (e.g., strawberries), or where composts possessing higher salt and nutrient levels are used, while higher application rates may be used for plants that require greater amounts of fertility (e.g., tomatoes).

For Lawns

Establishment: Compost should be uniformly applied over the entire area at an average depth of 1-2 inches and then incorporated to a depth of 6-8 inches using a rotary tiller or other similar equipment. Higher application rates of compost may be used if the compost is incorporated to a greater depth. Rake the soil surface smooth prior to seeding, planting or sodding. Always seed, plant or sod during the recommended period of time in your region. The soil surface should be free of large clods, roots, stones, and other material that will interfere with planting and maintenance. The amended area should be watered thoroughly after seeding, sodding or planting.

Maintenance: Annual topdressing with a finer grade compost (1/4” – 3/8” screened) is a good maintenance practice on both cool and warm season lawns. This can be done before or after core aeration to reduce compaction and improve moisture holding capacity. Drag or rake compost into the aeration holes. Cool season lawns can be compost topdressed in the early spring or fall. It’s best to apply compost to warm season lawns in the spring just prior to the active growing season. The area should be watered thoroughly after any seeding. Note: The nutrients contained in compost should be considered when applying fertilization. They will typically offset plant nutrient requirements, thereby potentially reducing fertilizer application rates.

For additional information on composting at home visit these websites:

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

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