Grand Little Place

A few years ago I decided I wanted to start composting….and truthfully I was overwhelmed and didn’t how to start composting for beginners.  As it turns out composting is super simple and easy to begin.  Now if you aren’t familiar with composting you may wonder, “what is composting?’.  Composting is simply recycling organic material (food and plants) into a nutrient rich soil.    Composting is important because it helps cut down on methane gas that happens in landfills when these items are thrown in the trash and creates soil that suppresses plant disease and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.

There are many different ways for you to compost but all of them follow a similar method and are easy to maintain.  I think one of the biggest fears is that compost will be gross.  A properly maintained compost will not smell or attract rodents.  We have been composting for 2 years now and I’ve learned some things along the way.  Anyone can compost no matter where you live and it can be done indoors or outdoors.

The first decision you need to make is if you will compost in a pile or in a bin.  I am from a rural area and my grandparents had what I would classify as a compost pile, tho it was a very loose interpretation of it, where they would throw food scraps.  I live in a city now and most yards aren’t large enough here for piles so bins are more common.  You can DIY a compost bin or purchase one, it honestly makes zero difference on the outcome.  All compost bins need to have a tight fitting lid and holes for air to reach the material inside.  My first attempt at composting was with a $10 galvanized bucket from Lowes that I drilled holes in the side of.  This is a fairly common DIY composter and it works well.  The downside to the DIY version was that the lid was tight fitting (what you want) but was somewhat difficult to remove.  My husband also did not appreciate seeing the compost juice coming out of the holes, haha.  I upgraded last year to a larger turning compost bin that I found at Aldi’s.  I love it because it is larger than the bucket and easier to access but isn’t as large as most of the ones I see.  We have a small yard so this is the perfect size.

These are great tutorials for how to DIY a compost bin:

• The Rogue Ginger, Make Your Own Compost Bin (This is similar to the composter I DIY’d)
• Saavy Saving Couple,  DIY: How to Make Your Own Compost Bin for Under $5!!
• For serious composters this large scale double tumbler DIY can be found via Instructables, Double-Decker Drum Composter

If you want to compost indoors you will need exactly what you need outside – an airtight container with holes for air to reach the material inside.  You will however also need a tray for your composter to sit on so that any moisture that drains out doesn’t leak where you don’t want it.  There are many composters made specifically for indoors that solve a lot of these issues.You can also do a type of composting called worm composting.  This is an excellent post all about indoor composting.

The last thing I recommend for anyone wanting to begin outdoor composting is to have an indoor compost collection bin.  We have one that hangs on the inside of our kitchen cabinet door under the sink.  It has a bracket that is attached to the door and then the bin can be lifted off of the bracket and carried outside to the larger tumbler.  I’ve had this for a year and a half and I love it!  I recommend an inside compost collector so that you don’t have bowls of scrap food laying around your counter (that you then toss in the trash) or so you aren’t running outside non stop.  The lid on our indoor bin is air tight and there is absolutely NO smell that come out of it, and trust me I’ve pushed the limit on that thing where it’s been shoved full.  No leaks, no smells!  This is the exact under the counter cabinet mounted kitchen composter we have.*

Now that you’ve got your composting situation all set up it’s time to start filling them up!   To keep a balanced bin you need a mix of green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon) material.  The mix of the two is what will help your food break down into soil and keep it from smelling.  Green material comes from food scraps  and brown material comes from hay, leaves, sawdust, etc.  There are some things you should never put into a compost bin.  Meat scraps, fats, dairy products, pet wastes, or yard clippings that have been treated with chemicals.  Another thing to note is that if you have a compost pile you could potentially end up with a plant that produces fruit.  You should never eat something that has grown out of the pile.  It is likely an unknown type of hybrid mix plant and may not be safe for consumption.

If you ever notice a smell coming from your compost bin it is a sign you need to add brown material.  Don’t overfill with brown material though because it will take it much longer to break down.  A good rule of thumb is to layer green and brown.  If you’ve been adding a lot of green (food) and have a solid layer than go ahead and cover it with brown before adding more food scraps.  We always have rogue leaves around our yard so I generally throw a quick layer on after I empty my kitchen bin.

Ok, so you’ve got your bin and are filling it up – now what?  Compost needs 3 other things to break down into soil – air, water and heat.  Your bin needs to have air so that the correct bacteria can thrive.  We already discussed that your compost bin needs to have holes in it, but you need to do one more thing to help it along – you have to turn it.  If you have a compost tumbler this is super easy, you just spin it around.  If you have a bin (like my DIY version) you will need to take a pitch fork or rake and manually mix up the compost.  This helps the bacteria do their job.  Compost also needs to be moist.  To establish your pile or bin you will need to help it along and make sure it doesn’t get too dry, so you just need to give it a little water every now and then.  Be careful not to overwater it, compost doesn’t ever need to be soaking wet, it just needs to be moist.  In all honesty I rarely water my compost because it tends to stay moist on it’s own due to the food scraps, but I do check it to make sure it hasn’t dried out.  Now because of the holes in the bin don’t be alarmed if you see your bin drain.  The drainage is known as ‘compost juice’ and it is actually just as great for plants as the finished soil.  If you have a bin place it over a tray to collect the juice and put it on your plants, they will thank you!

To help get you started I’ve created a printable that you can print out and keep in your kitchen as a reminder of what you can and can’t compost.  To get your copy click on the link below to join my email list (I don’t spam and am not a frequent emailer).  Once you’ve joined the Grand Little Place online community you will have access to the complete gallery of FREE printables, including the Composting Cheat Sheet!

I remember learning about earthworms in high school zoology class and all the fabulous things they do for the world, well when it comes to composting for beginners, worms are your best friends!  Worms help convert the organic material into soil quicker and they also help rotate the material around in your bin.  So if you find any worms in your yard run them over to the bin.  (My boys are always on the look out for worms to add!)  There is also an entire way that you can compost with worms year round called vermicomposting.  I’ve not done it but here is a great link that talks all about it.

Traditional outdoor composting generally only happens in warmer weather because heat is needed to help break down food scraps.  You can compost indoors and worm composting is a great way to compost year round.  I collect food scraps year round and continue to add it to my compost pile even in winter because I know that it will break down slowly throughout the cold months and then quickly once the weather warms.  This method is known as passive compost and means that the food breaks down slower. If you have large amounts of food scraps you can buy compost heaters but that is pretty extreme for the at home casual composter.

The last ‘composting for beginners’ tip I will leave you with is not to place your outdoor compost bin to close to any of your doors.  The compost won’t smell if you’re doing it properly but it will attract bugs.  If you are finicky about this then make sure to place it away from your doors or you may end up with some unwelcome guests inside.

Composting has been a happy surprise to me in that it is ridiculously easy to do and maintain.  It is quite literally simply throwing your trash into a different bin.  Don’t forget to grab your Composting Cheat Sheet (and gaining access to my complete printable library) by joining my email list.  Good luck as you start your composting journey!

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