Backyard Composting Produces Sustenance & Beauty

Backyard composting brings you healthier and more attractive plants. Compost can be used as a side dressing in your vegetable garden and in your flower beds, as a mulch, as a 4 inch layer to dig into 6 or more inches of topsoil to start new beds for vegetables and lawns, and to very lightly top dress your lawn each spring. Composting saves significant space in the local landfill, improves your soil drainage capability and texture. Compost provides microorganisms and nutrients which promote healthy plants. It does not contain enough Nitrogen to be considered a fertilizer but it will build the nutrient content of your soil overtime. Backyard composting is easy with the right materials and there is a range of methods that can meet the needs of many. I am going to describe the hot pile method which can produce finished compost in about 8 weeks.


The compost pile needs to be located on level, bare ground that is well drained. It needs to be placed away from structures and trees as it causes rotting and it does attract insects. It is best to have partial shade to prevent over drying in the warmer months and it needs protection from winds. Check with your community regarding placement away from neighbors' lot lines, etc. and pest prevention requirements.

Backyard composting can be conducted in a very neat and organized way. Composting can be simply attended by piling materials on bare ground and keeping them tidy with a tarp or plastic cover and wooden stakes. A compost bin can be a tightly covered plastic garbage can that you drill drainage holes in the bottom and some ventilation holes at various levels in its sides. You can also purchase composting bins or build them. A pile or bin needs to be at least 3'x3'x3' and no larger than 5'x5'x5'. A pile will not be able to remian 5’ wide as it grows in height but will become increasingly more narrow as you build up the pile. You might need space outside the pile or bin area for mixing. You can use a large flatten piece of cardboard on the lawn to mix your pile before returning the materials to their normal storage area.

A smaller pile than 3'x3'x3' will not heat and decompose as needed and a larger pile than 5'x5'x5' is too difficult to turn with a pitchfork in a limited space area. The bin can be a simple construction of wooden posts and chicken wire on bare ground, a three sided bin made of palettes on their ends, concrete blocks forming three walls without mortar to allow air to enter the pile, or a more elaborate wooden construction to include a hinged wooden top. A cover such as a tarp or carpet remnant is needed to prevent needed Nitrogen from being leached into the ground when heavy rains occur.

The microorganisms that will do the composting need both Carbon and Nitrogen to ingest. The formula for backyard composting is simple - 50% brown material to 50% green material. It is good to have a bit more brown than green which will cause the pile to heat more readily. When there is sufficient heat the microorganisms are at work and no odors will be present.

The brown (Carbon) material list includes:

dry leaves
hay or straw
shredded paper
shredded dry yard waste
dry grass
stale bread
wood chips and sawdust - only a few, very slow to decompose
pine needles - only a few, acidic
nut shells - only a few, very slow to decompose
clean fireplace wood ash - very, very little

The green (Nitrogen) material list includes:

fresh grass clippings
fresh garden trimmings
livestock manure - only use cattle, horse, or sheep
coffee ground and filters
tea leaves and bags
fruit and vegetable scraps - must bury at least 8-10 inches in center of pile or will attract rodents, pets, racoons, etc.

Do not include these materials as they attract pests or are toxic to humans and/or plants:

Meat
Bones
Grease
Diary products
fat or oils
no salad dressing
no pesticides
no herbacides
no black walnut tree leaves, nuts, etc.
no invasive weeds such as Bermuda grass
no rhizome plants or rhizomes which are similar to a blub/root combination
weed seeds
no infectious plants
no glossy paper
no charcoal or charcoal ash
no pet, bird, or pig waste
no human waste
no dinner plate scrappings

Once the materials are gathered, they need to be chopped for faster and more complete composting results. The microorganisms that do the composting need air to survive. Chop most pieces into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. If the material pieces are too small, the material can compact and kill the organisms due a lack of oxygen. Leaves can be chopped by running a law mover with a bag over them. Nut shells need to be smashed with a hammer. Food scrapes chop with the kitchen knife. Food scrapes have to be buried 8 - 10 inches in the center of the compost pile or they will attract rodents, pets, and more. This will also prevent odors.

Composting microorganisms also need water to thrive. Water the materials lightly as you assemble and mix them. The microorganisms need both air and water so the pile may not be saturated or it will suffocate these organisms. The pile only needs to be as a damp sponge. The typical test for sufficient moisture is to take a handful of your combined materials and squeeze. The materials should clump together and only one or two drops of water should appear on your hand. If too much water has been added, just mix your pile daily until the squeeze test yields clumping of materials with 0-2 water drops surfacing. Keep your pile or bin covered with a tarp, rug, or plastic cover so that rain does not saturate it or wind blow it into disarray.

Your compost pile should heat up within the next 3 - 6 days. Compost thermometers can be found in garden shops and on the internet to help you. You want your pile to heat to 120⁰F - 145⁰F for good results. To kill pathogens which cause diseases and weed seeds, the pile must heat to 131⁰F for 3 or more days in a row. The National Organic Progrqam (NOP) requires 131⁰F for 15 days in a row with at least 5 turnings. If the pile goes above 150⁰F, start turning your pile daily until the temperature is reduced. High temperatures will kill the needed microorganisms. If the pile goes too cool, add more green materials and mix.

Keep adding water as needed and turning your pile once every week. Continue using your squeeze test to keep the pile moist. If it generates needed heat throughout the process, no odors, slime, matting, or pest visitations should occur. If pile starts matting or being as slime, reduce water application, add brown material, and mix daily until composting begins again.

You will know that your composting cycle has finished when the heat returns to 110⁰F or less and almost all the materials are now a uniform and crumbly texture. The mixture will be a dark brown and smell as clean as forest soil. The backyard compost pile should now be about 50% the volume it was at the start. This can happen within 4 to 6 weeks. It can take longer, particularly, when the weather is cool. After the composting process is complete, rake and strain out large particles to be re-composted in your next effort. Let the complete compost rest and cure for about 4 weeks. New and needed organisms including earth worms should take up residence in it. These are the organisms which will protect your plants from diseases and the worms even feed them. After the composting and curing processes have completed you will have a rich soil amendment to use in accordance with plant or planting areas’ needs.

If you do not have access to green materials at this time, begin collecting your brown materials. Let them dry out thoroughly and then store them lightly in water proof containers or garbage bags until you can begin your backyard compost pile next spring.