How to Make Compost: 6 Common Composting Materials

Composting is the act of combining organic materials to encourage healthy decomposition. To make compost, organic materials like food waste, grass clippings, newspapers, and coffee grounds are layered together to create the perfect environment for microbes, fungi, and other decomposing bacteria to break them down into an all-natural fertilizer. The composting process requires time, patience, and the right raw materials, and ultimately produces a natural product that can enhance the soil in your garden and reduce the food waste in landfills.

Here are some of the benefits of composting for both your garden beds and the planet:

• Waste reduction. Composting converts waste into a useful component of your garden, reducing the waste sent to landfills and decreasing the amount of new greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Kitchen scraps or other reusable resources turn to methane when left out to rot. With proper composting, you can aid the decomposition process and turn it into a climate-friendly material. Reusing organic materials through composting is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint.
• Soil enrichment. Composting provides the proper nutrients to create rich soil without the reliance on chemical fertilizers. Compost materials can help loosen dense soil or clump loose soil together. Adding compost to your garden can help balance your soil’s pH, producing stronger and healthier plants. Learn how to test your soil pH using our complete guide.
• Water retention. Compost helps raise your soil’s moisture retention by increasing porosity while decreasing runoff, allowing your plants to receive and retain enough water.
• Attracts useful organisms. Like companion planting, compost piles can attract worms and beneficial insects to your crops or flower beds, aiding in their growth.

The best materials to compost for your garden are most types of organic matter. If it comes from nature, you can add it to your compost. Some materials that you can add to your homemade compost pile include:

1. 1. Coffee grounds: Most people throw away their coffee grounds, but they make a great organic addition to your compost pile.
2. 2. Hair: Hair is filled with nitrogen and can be a useful additive to your compost. Likewise, you can also add unpolished fingernail and toenail clippings to your compost.
3. 3. Sawdust: Sawdust is compostable, but you’ll need to add a healthy ratio of nitrogen materials to balance out its carbon content so it can break down easier.
4. 4. Food scraps: Materials like banana peels, eggshells, fruit cores, and vegetable scraps are great for compost. Food waste contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are necessary elements for rich compost.
5. 5. Newspaper: Shredded paper is another effective ingredient for your compost. Newspaper ink is 100 percent non-toxic, so it is safe to put into your garden soil.
6. 6. Grass clippings: Grass is high in nitrogen and breaks down fast, making it an ideal material for your compost pile.

Avoid composting greasy food, dairy products, diseased plants, animal feces, or dryer lint as these materials are difficult to decompose, attract pests, or emit bad smells.

There are a few different composting methods available for any gardener:

1. 1. Aerobic composting: Aerobic composting uses oxygen to help feed the microorganisms that break down the organic matter. Tumbler-style compost bins or open crates are often used to help aerate the material, and this type of compost will need to be turned frequently (and moistened, depending on how much air gets through).
2. 2. Anaerobic composting: Anaerobic composting is the opposite of aerobic—it does not use air to promote the breakdown of materials. This type of composting relies on a sealed environment to close in the decomposing matter. Anaerobic composting usually occurs in landfills and produces a large amount of methane. However, home gardeners can utilize anaerobic composting in the form of the Bokashi method, which, when done correctly, can speed up the composting process.
3. 3. Vermicomposting: Vermicompost relies on worms and bacteria to encourage decomposition. Earthworms, specifically red wigglers, reproduce quickly and can increase their numbers in a fairly short period, speeding up the composting process. Worms eat through the soil, creating more aeration before excreting nutrient-rich “castings” that can replenish the soil.

Home composting is a great way to help keep the planet and your garden thriving. Here’s how to make your own compost:

1. 1. Pick your composting bin. Many containers can work well as composters. You can try a DIY approach and use storage containers, garbage cans, wooden pallets, or milk crates for your compost bin, or you can buy a dedicated compost tumbler online.
2. 2. Gather your materials. To make your own compost, you need a balanced mix of green materials, brown materials, and water. Green materials are compostable resources that are high in nitrogen and found most often in your kitchen waste. Brown materials are high in carbon and usually found in paper, wood chips, and dry leaves. While organic matter is the best material to use for your compost pile, non-organic/pesticide-treated matter can still be effectively broken down by the microbes in the soil.
3. 3. Pick a location. You can keep a composting container in your yard or inside of your home, but you’ll need to protect it from the elements. High heat or wind can dry out your compost pile, so keep it in an easily accessible area safe from weather, animals, or indoor cleaning products.
4. 4. Shred your materials. Break your compostable materials down by shredding or peeling them into smaller pieces. For example, shred paper, tear banana peels, and break up any bigger materials. Smaller pieces can promote aeration throughout the compost heap and help it break down quicker.
   
5. 5. Keep it moist. Water is what brings your compost together—too little and your mixture won’t break down, but too much and your compost will rot in an unhealthy way. Keep your compost damp to create a prime environment for the microorganisms to break down your pile.
6. 6. Turn your compost. You’ll need to turn your compost pile every few days to ensure all the materials have an equal chance to break down. Start from the outside, pushing the soil inwards until it has been generously mixed around.
7. 7. Wait. Compost won’t turn into “black gold” for a few months, so you’ll need to be patient with your mixture during this process. If you want finished compost sooner, you can always try the Bokashi composting method. Decomposing food and garden waste into a compost tea is another effective way to make use of your compost.

Grow your own garden with Ron Finley, the self-described "Gangster Gardener." Get the MasterClass Annual Membership and learn how to cultivate fresh herbs and vegetables, keep your house plants alive, and use compost to make your community—and the world—a better place.