The Wrong Way to Compost

Well. I've only been working on the yard for one weekend and already I've made several mistakes. All of them having to do with composting.

This may sound strange, but I've always wanted to have a compost pile. I read about them in books as a kid, and while (as a city kid) I didn't know exactly what it was, the idea of it appealed to me. It sounded so nature-loving and sensible. City life being what it is (gardenless), I forgot all about composting until a few years ago when my mother-in-law stopped me from throwing some organic matter in the trash, saying: "Oh, can you throw that in the container over there? It's for the compost." I felt ridiculously proud and "of the earth" as I carried my eggshells or whatever it was to the compost container. From then on, I vowed to have a compost pile for my own garden.

Fast forward to last weekend, when I decided that the very first thing I'd do for my garden was to make a compost pile. And here's how I did it: I gathered up all organic matter we used over the weekend (cucumber peelings, wood ash, eggshells, etc.), and dumped it all in a corner of our yard. And walked away all smug. Done.

It was only when I got home and actually did some research on composting that I learned, welp, there's a bit more to composting than that. Here are 8 tips for any beginning gardeners out there who want to start a compost pile and don't know how. Don't do these things.

1. Don't just throw any amount of organic material together and think you've got a good compost pile going.

Compost piles need to be balanced between "brown" organic material (such as dead leaves, twigs, manure, nutshells, hay) and "green" (vegetable peelings, grass clippings, fruit scraps, coffee grounds) organic material. A mix is needed because the different materials provide different crucial gases: "brown" provides carbon, while "green" supplies nitrogen. There appears to be some debate over which proportions are best, but a 1:1 ratio of green/brown seems to be considered reasonable.

I think my pile was almost entirely green, unless you count the wood ash, which I used entirely too much of (see "Don't #7").

2. Don't heap your greens and browns together randomly.

In building a good compost pile, you need to layer, layer, layer! Green and brown organic matter should be piled in alternate layers, with an occasional shovel of garden soil to add bacteria (which is necessary to help it all decomposed faster). Each layer should be moistened - a dry heap won't decompose very well - and when all done, the heap should be "comparable to the wetness of a wrung-out sponge." Top off the compost pile with garden soil, manure or finished compost.

3. Don't make your compost heap too small.

The ideal size for a starting heap is a 3x3x3 foot pile. This minimum ensures that it will produce enough heat during decomposition to sterilize the compost and hasten the decomposition process. If you don't have organic material to make a 3-ft. cube, just top off layers you do have with about six-inches of soil, and continue layering when you have more materials until you reach the 3-ft. cubed ideal.

My compost pile was about a foot tall. And it should go without saying that it didn't top it off with anything. Oops - my bad.

4. Don't leave your compost pile unturned.

Oxygen is necessary to the decomposition process. And to supply the pile with oxygen, you must turn the compost pile so that all the material at the edges are brought to the center of the pile. Turning the compost once a week will help speed decomposition and lessen odors.

As I said, I just dumped the stuff in the yard and left it.(God, this is getting really embarrassing.) Fortunately, I also read that, if starting a new pile, you should wait 2-3 weeks before turning it as it will allow the center of the pile to "heat up" and break down the materials. Whew.

5. Don't put your compost in a location that's too sunny or too shady.

Hah! This one I got right just by the luck of the draw. I put my compost in a semi-shaded location (just behind the barn) which is exactly what you're supposed to do. Putting it in a sunny location will dry it out too much; a too-shady place might result in your pile being too wet (which sucks because the necessary organisms can't survive when the compost is soggy). You should also make sure your compost isn't too close to a tree (check!) as the tree roots might grow into it.

6. Don't hesitate to add cardboard to your compost pile

My husband added a cardboard box (formerly containing a six-pack of beer) to the compost pile. At the last minute, I took it out. It just looked too big sitting there. Of course, I get home and read that cardboard is great for composting. It adds carbon to the pile (a "brown"! ) and if it's corrugated or still in box form (like egg cartons, for example), the oxygen trapped in the folds and corners will help the decomposition process. The beer box would have been perfect...

7. Don't add too much wood ash.

From what I've read, a small amount of wood ash is good for compost, but if you add too much it will absorb the nitrogen in the pile and render the pile too alkaline to break down the materials properly.

My compost pile was probably 70% wood ash. Sigh.

8. Don't add meat, whole eggs, dairy products, sawdust and fatty materials to your compost.

Somehow I managed to not add any of these things to my compost pile, but since I was talking about the wrong way to compost, I figured my list would not be complete without mentioning this. Don't compost these things as some will slow decomposition, some will attract rodents, and some are just...bad. Just don't do it.


So, there's my list for any beginners out there. If any experienced gardeners have more tips on how to build a compost pile, I'd love to hear them. I think it's pretty obvious that I need all the help I can get!