How to Compost at Home
 

Use these links to help you find out the dos and don'ts of backyard composting and answers to frequently asked questions.

What is compost & composting?
What are the benefits of compost?
What can I compost?
10 Steps to Successful Composting
And when it's done...
Troubleshooting
Where can I get a composter?
More questions?

What is compost & composting?

Compost is a dark, crumbly, earthy smelling material that is great for your garden. Composting is the natural breakdown of organic material (kitchen and yard materials) by micro-organisms (bacteria and fungi), insects and worms.

What are the benefits of compost?

Composting is nature's way of recycling. Compost returns nutrients and organic matter to the soil, and feeds beneficial micro-organisms, insects and worms. It improves the texture, oxygen-retaining capabilities and moisture-holding capacity of the soil. Compost is a soil conditioner and a source of fertilizing nutrients. It conditions and improves the overall structure of soils by adding organic matter. Compost contains fertilizing nutrients that are released slowly over time. This can reduce, if not eliminate, the need for chemical fertilizers.

Beyond its benefit to gardens, there's another compelling reason to have some form of composting system in your yard. Putting garden and kitchen material in a compost bin removes these materials from curbside waste collection and saves landfill space. Composting reduces greenhouse gases that are produced when organic material decomposes in a landfill without oxygen.

Help Nature Take Care of Your Lawn - Aerate your lawn with Compost

Following every rain, or in the cool, moist mornings, earthworms come to the surface of your lawn to feed. They grab leaves, blades of grass, and other bits of organic matter and "tow" them back to their burrows. They keep the soil loose, aerated, and well drained. Earthworms turn under the seasonal mulch layers, "vermicompost" it, and convert it to available plant nutrients at the level of the plant roots.

What can I compost?

Compostable material is split into two categories:

"Greens" - Nitrogen Rich Materials

• Kitchen scraps including vegetables and fruit scraps, crushed egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds with filters and paper towels
• Garden and yard materials
• Grass clippings - or leave this natural fertilizer on the lawn

"Browns" - Carbon Rich Materials

• Dry leaves
• Bread, pasta and rice
• Sawdust and shavings
• Finely ground wood chips
• Well shredded paper
• Shredded egg cartons and cardboard

Materials that do not go in the backyard composter include:

• Pet manure or litter
• Weeds that have gone to seed
• Any diseased plants
• Meat, fish, fowl or the bones
• Fats or oils: e.g. dairy products, eggs, peanut butter, spreads (these materials breakdown more slowly than plant material and may attract pests or cause odours)
• Ash, sawdust or shavings from chemically treated or painted wood

10 Steps to Successful Composting
 

1. Locate the composting bin in an area with good drainage and one that is accessible year round (partial shade is preferred).
2. Loosen the soil over the area on which you are going to place your backyard composter. This will allow soil organisms (insects and worms) to move up the pile.
3. Put down a thick layer (4 cm/10 in) of browns, such as dry leaves or shredded paper.
4. Add a layer of greens, such as kitchen scraps, garden trimmings or grass clippings and spread evenly (6 cm/2 in).
5. Cover green material with browns (10 cm/4 in). This reduces fruit flies and odours. A layer of soil or compost will work in place of the browns. Soil and compost has the added benefit of supplying "starter" micro-organisms to accelerate the process.
6. Continue to alternate layers of green & brown until your compost bin is full. Tip!! Save some bags of dry leaves every fall.
7. Turning: When the backyard composter is full, mix and add air to the pile by turning with a garden fork or turning tool. Alternatively, lift compost bin off pile and place in a new location. Fork material back into bin, mixing it well.
8. Monitor moisture: it should be like a wrung out sponge - damp but not soaking. Add water if pile is dry. If too wet, add some browns.
9. Continue to mix the pile every 10-14 days. Note: Pile may heat up and shrink after being turned.
10. After 3-4 turnings, the compost should be ready. It should be crumbly, moist, dark coloured and have an earthy smell. Allow this material to mature for a couple of months before using.

During the winter months, continue with Steps 4 and 5 (save fall leaves for step 5).  Click here for more details on winter composting.

Controlled and speedy decomposition is all about balance. If your compost pile is too full of browns, then your pile will be slow to decompose. On the other hand, if the pile is too full of greens, it will turn slimy and smell bad. The goal is to have roughly equal amounts, by weight, of browns and greens.

And when it's done ...

You'll know your compost is ready when it looks and smells like soil. Dig it out or lift the entire compost bin off, screen out any small bits of undigested materials (throw these back in). Spread compost throughout the garden.  Top-dress your lawn with a thin layer, dig it into beds, or mound it around the base of plants. You’ll soon discover, as committed compost enthusiasts have, that you can never have enough.

Troubleshooting

The backyard composter has a bad odour

The pile does not have enough air or is too wet. Turn the pile (mixing the outside to inside and bottom to top). If the pile is still too wet, add some dry brown materials.

Nothing is happening

The pile will not heat up and may not have enough nitrogen-rich green materials. Mix in a natural nitrogen source like fresh grass clippings, kitchen scraps, bone or blood meal. If the pile is too dry, add some moisture and mix. Small piles may not heat up.

There are insects hovering around the backyard composter

Insects are interested in the food in your backyard composter. Always bury kitchen scraps with a layer of dry leaves. If brown materials are not available, cover with a layer of compost or soil.

The pile is dug up and disturbed

Animals may be getting in to the pile. Make sure you do not add meat or fat to the pile. You can animal proof your backyard composter by installing a tight fitting or hinged lid and by wrapping hardware cloth (wire mesh) at ground level and up the sides of the bin.

Where can I get a composter?

Backyard composters are available for City of London residents to purchase ($30 each, taxes included, cash only please) at the Oxford Street Community EnviroDepot and the Clarke Road Community EnviroDepot. You may also purchase a composter at your local hardware store.
 

More questions?

Contact the Thames Region Ecological Association (TREA). Call the Rotline at 519 672-5991 or visit www.trea.ca.

London Composts is an environmental partnership of businesses, non-profit organizations and local government working collectively to raise awareness of:

• The value of composting as a way to recycle organic waste,
• The use of compost to improve the soil quality for growing plants, and
• The benefits of sharing fruits and vegetables grown in compost enriched soil.

For information about London Composts, call 519 645-7733.

The London Composts partners are:
2cg Inc., A & L Labs, Amway Global, City of London, Community Garden Project, Composting Council of Canada, Covent Garden Market, London & Area Food Bank, Plant A Row - Grow A Row, St. Leonard's Society, Thames Region Ecological Association, Try Recycling
The above information was obtained from TREA and The Composting Council of Canada.

For the Love of the Earth…Compost!