Composting Best Practices

Start with a balanced mix of brown and green materials: Brown materials, such as dead leaves and twigs, provide carbon while green materials, such as grass clippings and food waste, provide nitrogen. A balanced mix of these two types of materials is essential for healthy composting.

Moisten the compost pile: Keep your compost pile moist, but not too wet. A compost pile that is too wet can cause anaerobic conditions and produce unpleasant odors, while a compost pile that is too dry will not compost efficiently.

Aerate the compost pile: Turn the compost pile regularly to aerate the material and allow air to circulate. This helps to speed up the decomposition process and reduces the chance of unpleasant odors.

Properly size the compost pile: The size of your compost pile should be at least three feet wide by three feet tall by three feet deep, in order to maintain the necessary temperature for efficient composting.

Shred or chop large materials: Large pieces of material, such as branches and leaves, take longer to compost than smaller pieces. Shredding or chopping the material into smaller pieces will speed up the composting process.

Add compost activators: Compost activators, such as compost starter, can help to speed up the composting process. They can also improve the quality of the compost by adding beneficial microbes.

Avoid adding toxic materials: Do not add materials that may be toxic or harmful to plants or animals, such as animal waste, dairy products, or oils.

Cover the compost pile: Cover the compost pile to retain moisture and reduce unpleasant odors. You can use a compost bin, tarp, or burlap sack to cover the pile.

Store composting materials properly: Store your composting materials properly to prevent them from becoming contaminated. Store them in a compost bin, covered container, or tarp.

Compost when the weather is right: Composting is most efficient when the temperature is between 90 and 140°F. This can typically be achieved in the warm months when temperatures are higher. Composting can still occur in cooler months, but the process will be slower.