How to Make Home Compost

Overview

Soil improvement is the most important thing you can do for your garden, and adding compost is the most effective thing you can do to improve your soil. Home composting is not difficult. It gives you a large amount of fertile humus for your garden, and it lessens the amount of trash you send to the landfill. Ingredients for making compost are brown and green organic wastes. Brown waste is dead, dry organic matter like small sticks, leaves and straw. Green waste is fresh organic matter like fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen, garden crop waste, fresh grass clippings or pruned flowers.

Step 1

Start your compost pile with a layer of brown organic matter. This layer should be 4 to 6 inches deep. You can include brown matter of several types and mix it together to make the layer.

Step 2

Add a layer of green organic matter on top of the brown. This can be fruit peels, potato peels, eggshells or faded flowers. Mix these together as you spread them in a layer. This layer can be about 2 inches deep.

Step 3

Continue alternating brown and green organic matter in layers as you build your compost pile. When the pile consists of a few layers, use a shovel or spading fork to turn and mix the layers of the pile together. It may take a few days for you to collect enough matter to make the layers for your first compost pile. Just keep adding to it as organic waste accumulates.

Step 4

Add more to the compost pile by burying new matter in the warm center of the pile. Turn the pile at least once a week, mixing it thoroughly.

Step 5

Water your compost pile to keep it moist. The organisms need moisture to break down the matter quickly. The heat from decomposition and the sun can quickly dry out the pile.

Step 6

Add earthworms to your compost pile to hasten the decomposition. If your pile is located on the ground near your garden, earthworms will probably find their way there without your help. If you use a bin that does not contact the ground, you will have to add earthworms.