Consider putting the pile “downwind” from your home. Sometimes the pile will emit odors.
Ensure that there’s enough sunlight, putting it near a deciduous tree if possible. It will need sufficient sunlight in the winter months and some shade in summer so that it doesn’t dry out.
Good drainage is also essential so that water doesn’t accumulate around it.
Gather Your Materials.
As women we’re natural gatherers, so this part is particularly fun, I think. Start collecting kitchen scraps and yard trimmings. Save rinds, peels, skins, seeds, leaves, egg shells, corncobs, tea bags, and coffee grounds. Save yard trimmings, including pine needles, hay, leaves, grass, prunings, straw, brush, and other yard debris.
Avoid oils, animal fats, meats, disease-infected plants, weeds, or dog and cat feces.
Read the list below from the EPA before you get started.
What to Compost.
- Animal manure
- Cardboard rolls
- Clean paper
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Cotton rags
- Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
- Eggshells
- Fireplace ashes
- Fruits and vegetables
- Grass clippings
- Hair and fur
- Hay and straw
- Houseplants
- Leaves
- Nut shells
- Sawdust
- Shredded newspaper
- Tea bags
- Wood chips
- Wool rags
- Yard trimmings
What Not to Compost.
- Black walnut tree leaves or twigs
- Coal or charcoal ash
- Dairy products (e.g., butter, egg yolks, milk, sour cream, yogurt)
- Diseased or insect-ridden plants
- Fats, grease, lard, or oils
- Meat or fish bones and scraps
- Pet wastes (e.g., dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter)
- Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides
Build It.
Here are your materials:
Browns (provide carbon): dead leaves, branches, twigs, etc.
Greens (provide nitrogen): grass clippings, fruit and vegetable waste, coffee grounds, etc.
Water (provides moisture)
Start a small pile, about 3 x 3 x 3. Begin by building layers of greens and browns (about two to four inches thick), with coarse materials like twigs and wood chips at the bottom of the pile. Make sure the larger pieces are chopped up. Alternate between green and brown layers.
After about two layers, moisten it. Make sure it’s not saturated.
Put kitchen scraps in the center of the pile (about ten inches down).
