So you want to start a compost? You have heard about it, read a little, but it is all just overwhelming to you? Yep. I was right there about a year ago. So much information.. it was all similar but yet different, and I just didn’t want to mess it up. It was only until now, a full year later, that I actually understand why I am composting and what I am going to do with it. I don’t consider myself a slow learner in any sense. So I can only determine that I was just incredibly overwhelmed and needed someone to just sit me down and give me the basics. That’s what I hope to do for you all today!
Why does anyone compost?
I am sure there are thousands of reasons.. but here are my 3 simplified reasons:
- Reduce kitchen waste– I HATE to throw things away. Not like a hoarder doesn’t throw things away, but to waste food just upsets my soul. I am trying to teach my kids to have a smaller carbon footprint on this earth and allowing them to be wasteful would go completely go against what I am standing for. So – composting is an easy out for me. We will definitely have waste of some kind from the kitchen, and this way- I can easily throw it in my bins and be happy that it’s being put to a new use!
- Save money- Ok this may be a stretch but I am dead serious :). I do not think people pay attention to how many trash bags they purchase. We are a family of 5, and prior to my heavy attention to recycling and composting, we were purchasing trash bags what felt like every week. If I had to guess I would say we are down to buying them once every 2-3 months, if that. So another reason any I love composting is all of my paper waste like paper towels, toilet paper rolls, or even Q-tips, and cardboard and kitchen scraps get thrown into my compost to be one with the earth again, leaving space in my trashcan for other items that I cannot repurpose or recycle.
- Bringing nutrients back to your soil– For awhile even after having my compost I am slightly embarrassed to tell you that I didn’t really understand the reason behind why we were composting. I knew it was reducing my footprint and a personal way to breakdown my own trash, but that really isn’t it at all. I mean that is a benefit- but the REAL reason why you compost is to bring nutrients back to your own garden/farm/plants. You see.. your plants suck up nutrients right out of the ground – they make fruit or veggies, you then pick the veggies and then eat them. Once the plants are done producing, you dig them up and throw them out in your yard waste and plant new ones which suck more nutrients out of the ground in a vicious cycle. What you will soon find is there are no more nutrients for your plants to suck up. Your soil will no longer be fertile. To avoid this- you can use various items on your property to create tons of nutrients and fertilize your soil allowing plants to grow healthy and strong!
5 Simplified Tips from a Beginner
1. Don’t overcomplicate your bin
You don’t have to be fancy. You do not need a large $300 bin rotating in the air. In fact, I spent $0 on my compost pile. It is simply a fenced in area (I used metal fencing, zip ties and PVC pipes) to keep my dog out.
I have decided to use the 3 bin system since I am a go big or go home kind of gal. Here is a quick description from hanggiatot.info
If you are wanting to start off small – I would suggest getting a simple trash can (even better if you have an old one laying around to reuse!) You can find a tutorial from 6inthesuburbsblog.
2. Understand your browns from your greens
The basics of a compost are the equal mixture of Carbon (‘brown materials’) and Nitrogen (‘green materials’). The picture below from WideOpenEats was what I used to help me get started in understanding what items you can use in your compost and what category they would fall in. I promise, over time you wont even need to look at the list!
3. Don’t overthink it
At first I was spending all my time measuring and trying to get it exactly right. Then I read Start Composting Today: No Bin, No Rules, No Sweat! (its free) from TheSurvivalGardener.com It helped me break the chains so to speak and just use common logic. All the sudden my compost pile wasn’t stressful anymore – it was simple and he also describes many different ways you could compost if you are feeling creative!
4. Get the whole family on board
I find that my compost was way more successful and grew faster when I was able to get everyone involved. My husband was an easy sell, cause well- he is the plant guy! But the kids? Not so easy.. I caught them throwing away some of the easiest obvious compost items like a banana peel. I first got them more involved in the compost itself. Helping them take items down, throwing it in, let them turn it with a shovel. But the biggest change we made was simply making it easier. I bought large pitchers from Dollar Tree ($1 each) and added compost brown and green decals. It’s amazing how the small things can get kids on board. Now they get excited when they are filled and can go dump them!
5. Do not rush it
Mother nature does not have a personal planner. She does what she wants, when she wants. You can always look up tips to have great balance in your compost to speed up decomposition. But as a whole- kick back and let the pile do the work for you. It is not a fast process, but incredibly rewarding!
Feel free to add your own beginners tips in the comments! Happy composting!
Sarah
This is such an useful blog post. Especially since I like to compost. It is really good for the environment. Spring is less than a month away, so it is important. I am definitely going to utilize this post. Thank you so much for writing it and sharing it.