Composting 101

 Compost 101 • Things To Compost

We all have questions when first starting out as beginners in gardening. One of the first things budding gardeners often ask about is what can, and can't go into our compost heap out in the yard. In addition, perhaps you're wondering what can be composted by means of using a worm-box. The answers to both are outlined in the brief list that's to follow.

Things We Should Compost...

All fruit and vegetable trimmings except citrus (see below), crushed egg shells, old herbs and spices, corn husks, coffee grounds and filters, tea leaves and tea bags, old grains, grass clippings, leaves, shredded /torn up uncoated paper (bills, bags, clean grease free used paper towels...), dryer lint, hair and fingernail trimmings, and finally, urine (which is sterile) is a good source of nitrogen and can be sparingly added to your compost pile, but should never be introduced directly to your worm-box.

Items To Exclude From Your Compost

Bread products:  By adding baked goods to your compost pile you’re simply putting out a welcome mat for pests. 

Citrus Peels and Onions:The natural chemicals and acidity in citrus peels and onions can kill worms and other beneficial microorganisms, which can slow down the decomposition in your compost. Additionally, citrus peels take awhile to break down, which might delay how soon you can use your compost.

                        

Cooking oil: Smells like a free meal to animals and insects. It can also upset the composts’ moisture and PH balance.

                        

Diseased plants: Trash them! You could transfer any fungal or bacterial issues to whatever ends up becoming your finished compost.

                        

Heavily coated /printed paper: A partial list including; magazines, catalogs, printed cards and most printed or metallic wrapping paper. Foils don't break down and who needs a bunch of nasty printing chemicals in your compost?

                        

Meat products: Includes bones, blood, fish and animal fats. Another pest magnet. Milk products: Refrain from composting milk, cheese, yogurt and cream. These products will attract pests.

                        

Rice: Attracts varmints. Cooked rice can also be fertile breeding ground for the kinds of bacteria that you don’t want in your compost.

                        

Sawdust:  Know the source; it must be clean and untreated! Stubborn garden plants: Dandelions, ivy and kudzu are plants which will probably enjoy your compost heap as an ideal place to grow, rather than decompose so put these greens in your yard waste container.

Walnuts: Are no good they contain juglone (A yellow crystalline substance, extracted from green shucks of the walnut); which is a natural aromatic compound; toxic to some plants because of it's fungicidal and antibiotic properties.