How to make great compost & what can I compost?
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For best results, use a mixture of types of ingredient. The right balance is something learnt by experience, but a
rough guide is to use equal amounts by volume of greens and browns (see below).
Some things, like grass cuttings and soft young weeds, rot quickly. They work as 'activators', getting the composting
started, but on their own will decay to a smelly mess.
Older and tougher plant material is slower to rot but gives body to the finished compost - and usually makes up the
bulk of a compost heap. Woody items decay very slowly; they are best chopped or shredded first, where appropriate.
Greens for Your Compost Bin
Browns for Your Compost Bin
"Greens" are the nitrogen-rich additions to your compost
pile. These tend to have lots of moisture, break down
quickly, and provide a quick burst of heat to your pile.
While we call them "greens," technically any plant matter
will work here: Coffee Grounds, for example, are brown in
color, but they're rich in nitrogen, hence, they're a "green."
Here are some ideas of greens for your compost pile:
"Browns" are the carbon-rich materials in your compost that
add aeration to the pile and structure to your compost. They
break down more slowly, so it's a good idea to chop them up
fairly small if you're able to. Here are some browns to put in
your compost pile:
Fruit and vegetable peels ( eg: potato peelings )
Citrus rinds
Melon rinds
Coffee grounds
Tea leaves/tea bags
Old vegetables from the crisper
Houseplant trimmings
Weeds that haven't gone to seed
Grass clippings
Fresh leaves
Deadheads from flowers
Dead plants (as long as they aren't diseased)
Seaweed
Cooked plain rice
Cooked plain pasta
Stale dry bread
Corn husks
Corn cobs
Broccoli stalks
Earth removed from the garden beds
Thinnings from the vegetable garden
Spent bulbs that you used for forcing indoors
Christmas Trees and wreaths just be sure to cut the
stems off of the wreath form or wires first)
24. Old, less flavorful packaged herbs and spices
25. Egg shells
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Shredded newspaper
Shredded office paper/school papers
Shredded, non-glossy junk mail
Torn up plain corrugated cardboard boxes (not with glossy
coatings)
Straw
Bedding from hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits
Fall leaves
Chopped up twigs and small branches
Pine cones
Nut shells (avoid walnut shells as they can inhibit plant
growth)
Excelsior
Raffia
Used napkins
Toilet paper, paper towel, or wrapping paper tubes
(cardboard>
Fallen bird's nests
Pine needles/pine straw
Paper coffee filters (used)
Pressed paper egg cartons, torn into small pieces
Sawdust (only from untreated wood)
Brown paper shopping bags, shredded/torn
Brown paper lunch bags, shredded/torn
Leftover peat or coir from seed starting
Coir liners for hanging baskets
Wood chips
Bedding from chickens
A word about proportions. In general, you want about 4 times (and up to ten or twenty times, depending on who you talk to)
as many browns as greens. If you're going for fast composting, you'll want to pay strict attention to proportions. But if you
just want to make some compost over time, and avoid sending organic matter to the landfills, then you really don't need to
worry about it too much. If your bin gets wet and smelly, add more browns and cut back on the greens for a while. Give it a
turn. If your bin just sits there, not breaking down, add some greens, turn it, and it should start breaking down again.
Copyright: Rush Green Allotments & Gardens Association
www.rushgreenallotments.co.uk 2011-2013