Composting 101
You may be spending dough on store bought fertilizer for your plants while throwing away valuable bits of it every day. I have seen the beauty of decomposing organic material, readers! It’s so easy and beneficial to compost, I don’t know why I never did it before. The steps are simple and you can go the route of not buying a thing.
A close up view of the compost heap.
I’m starting a vegetable garden in my back yard and decided it was time to start saving my scraps for the improvement of my veggies. I decided to buy a compost bin. This is to avoid the intrusion of my curious and determined dog, not to mention alley cats and any other wayward critters. it is about 3 1/2 feet tall and holds 115 gallons. I put it together and placed it at the back of my yard. (In the heat of the Summer, interesting smells may emanate from the bin, so the further away you can park it, the better.) I had already started a compost bucket so I had several pounds of it waiting. I had to clear half of my overgrown yard, so there was plenty of grass and vegetation there for me. One cannot overwhelm a compost bin, though, so I only used a bit of the yard waste. Add too much green waste at once, and it will simply sit in a lump.
There are two components to composting. “Green” waste, like veggie peels and grass clippings. These add nitrogen to your soil. And “Brown” waste like twigs and dead leaves. These things add carbon. If your bin begins to smell, add more “Brown” waste to balance out the different kinds of bacteria at work within the bin.
I combined the compost bucket with some yard clippings and layered them at the bottom of the bin. It was only about 1/6 of the way full, but that was a good start. Here’s a list of what was in the bucket:
-eggshells
-onion peels
-orange rinds
-celery stalks
-grape bunch stems
-coffee grounds with filters
-teabags
-potato peels
-banana peels
-apple cores
-organic paper towels, free of dye
-torn up brown paper bags, again, free of dye
-swept up dog hair
-soybean pods
-avocado shells
These are just a few of the things that are suitable for a compost heap. The possibilities are almost endless, as long as you follow The Rules of Composting:
Rule no. 1: No meat! Don’t put any meat scraps or bones in your compost bin. Rotting meat will attract flies and flies mean one thing: maggots. I shudder at the thought. Some people will argue that bone meal can be bought for fertilizer, so why not include bones in the compost bun? Bone meal is ground up and treated, and is certainly not the same as tossing old chicken bones into your compost bin. Plus, that could be dangerous should your dog get into the heap (again, this is why I bought a bin with a lid).
Rule no. 2: No carbs! Do not put bread, pasta or cooked rice in your bin. These things are made with sugars that are broken down, so the decaying process invites mold and smell. Potatoes are fine 
Rule no. 3: No poop! It is unsafe to try to compost human waste. Although there are some gardeners that do this, they understand the temperature requirements, and risks associated with composting “humanure”. There are a few specific kinds of poop that are great for compost: bat guano, cow, sheep and other grass eaters. Do not empty your cats litter box into your bin, or add any presents from Fido. Doing so invites pests and disease.
The contents in your bin must be turned and aerated. A pitchfork is good for this. Bins that rotate on a horizontal axis and can be turned can be purchased. The contents must be exposed to lots of oxygen to decay properly.
The contents must be moist, but NOT SOGGY. Too much moisture will promote mold and stagnation. However, a good moisture content is important. Try this: pick up a handful of compost and squeeze it. It should lightly clump together. If it drips it is too wet and should be dried out for a few weeks and kept out of the rain.
Once compost ha turned into black dirt it is ready to be spread on your garden. It can be mixed in with the dirt, or put at the base of established plants. Compost can be used on indoor plants, but beware. You may be bringing in uninvited guests from outside. I used compost in a potted peace lily, and a tomato plant grew out of the same pot! I will be transferring the tomato plant to my garden outside.
Great article, Ivy! I found this very helpful.