Composting

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This post may contain one or more affiliate links, which means I will get a small commission when you buy a product via the provided link at no cost to you! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full disclaimer here.

If you’re planning a garden or working toward a more self-sufficient lifestyle, composting is a game-changer. It’s one of the easiest ways to reduce waste, create nutrient-rich soil, and make your garden thrive—all while saving money. Best of all, getting started is simpler than you think!

In this post, I’ll walk you through the basics of composting, how to start a DIY compost bin and the best composting practices for success. Plus, I’ve put together a free printable composting guide to help you quickly check what to compost (and what to avoid). Grab your copy below!

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What is Composting?

Composting is a simple and effective way to recycle organic waste and create nutrient-rich soil for your garden. It’s a natural process where food scraps, leaves, and yard waste (also called greens and browns) break down over time, turning into a valuable soil amendment. While the decomposition process of these organic materials happens naturally, learning how to compost at home allows you to speed up the process and make the most of your garden waste.

By following best composting practices, such as maintaining the right balance of greens and browns, keeping the pile moist, and turning it regularly, you can produce high-quality compost in just a few months. Whether you’re using a store-bought bin or a DIY compost setup, composting is an easy way to improve soil health while reducing waste.

Why Compost?

Whether you grow vegetables, flowers, or both, your plants continuously draw nutrients from the soil. Composting garden waste—such as spent plants at the end of the season or pruned trimmings—helps return those nutrients to the soil, creating a natural cycle of renewal. By using compost to enrich your garden beds, you improve soil health, boost plant growth, and reduce waste. This simple yet powerful process truly resonates with me.

That’s just one reason I love composting, but there are plenty more. Here’s why composting is such a game-changer for your garden.

Reducing Waste

Composting is a simple yet effective way to keep organic material out of landfills. Food scraps, garden clippings, and fallen leaves all break down naturally, but when they end up in a landfill, they contribute to methane emissions—a major greenhouse gas. By composting at home, you turn waste into a valuable resource, reducing your environmental footprint while enriching your garden.

Creating Nutrient-Rich Soil

Healthy soil is the foundation of a thriving vegetable garden, and compost is one of the best ways to improve it. As compost breaks down, it releases essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—key elements that support plant growth. Adding compost to your kitchen garden helps improve soil structure, retain moisture, and encourage beneficial soil life, leading to healthier, more productive plants.

Saving Money

Store-bought fertilizers and soil amendments can be expensive, but composting provides a free, natural alternative. By recycling kitchen scraps and garden waste, you create your own organic fertilizer, reducing the need for chemical-based products. Over time, this can lead to significant savings while ensuring your soil stays nutrient-rich without synthetic additives.

Increasing Your Self-Sufficiency

Growing your own food is rewarding, and making your own compost takes it one step further. Instead of relying on commercially bought fertilizers, you can create nutrient-rich compost right in your backyard. This not only cuts costs but also gives you more control over what goes into your soil, supporting a more sustainable and self-sufficient way of gardening.

Getting Started with Composting

Starting your composting journey is easier than you think! You can either purchase a compost bin or build your own using materials you already have. Here’s what to consider.

Buy or Build Your Compost Bin

There are many types of compost bins, including stationary bins out of plastic, wooden composting bins, tumbling bins, and worm bins.

Building a Compost Bin from Pallet Wood

You can easily build your compost bin using old pallet wood. One thing to note, if you use old pallet wood, be sure that it is heat-treated and not chemically treated. You don’t want your compost to interact with chemicals that are used on the pallet wood.

Heat-treated pallets have an official stamp, this way you can easily check if your pallet is heat-treated or chemically treated. Chemically treated pallets also have an official stamp, I’ve linked a site that has a whole article about how to check if your pallet is safe to reuse.

Choosing the Right Location for Your Compost Bin

When planning your garden—and choosing the perfect spot for your compost bin—there are a few things to consider. Personally, I like to keep things simple and convenient. That means I don’t want to trek across the yard every time I need to toss kitchen scraps into the bin. Luckily, our garden is small enough that everything is within easy reach.

That said, I wouldn’t mind having a sprawling garden with a long, scenic walk to the compost bin. Maybe one day! But for now, keeping everything close makes composting effortless and part of my daily routine.

For the best results, place your bin directly on well-draining soil. This allows worms and microbes to enter naturally and start breaking down organic material. These beneficial organisms speed up decomposition, turning waste into compost faster.

A great tip I once saw was to put your bin next to a fruit tree or shrub. This way the excess compost water (that is high in nutrients!) will seep directly into the soil. This nutrient-packed leaking water will provide the fruit tree nutrients and you with lots of harvest every season. You don’t have to put in any extra work except for filling your compost bin.

Adding a Mix of Greens and Browns to Your Compost Bin

To create nutrient-rich compost, balance your mix of nitrogen-rich greens and carbon-rich browns. The right composting greens and browns ratio ensures a healthy decomposition process and prevents unpleasant odors.

• Greens (Nitrogen) – Fresh materials like vegetable scraps, grass clippings, and coffee grounds.
• Browns (Carbon) – Dry materials like leaves, cardboard, and straw.

A good rule of thumb is a 50:50 mix or slightly more browns than greens. If your pile smells bad, add more browns; if it’s decomposing too slowly, add more greens. Keep a composting list in your kitchen cabinet for quick reference.

Turning Your Compost

Next to enough heat, worms, and microbes, you can also speed the composting process up by turning your compost. Turning the compost will aerate the compost, and the microbes that need air to compost will thrive, multiply, and keep processing your compost. Use a pitchfork or shovel to turn the compost every few weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions about Composting

Still have some questions? Here are some of the most common composting FAQs.

How Big Should My Composting Bin Be?

If you wonder how to make compost fast and want your compost to break down efficiently, choose a bin that’s at least 3ft (1m) high and wide. A compost bin with this volume will ensure your kitchen scraps and such will get a high enough temperature that will speed up the composting process.

When is Compost Ready to Use?

Once your compost is ready, it will be dark, crumbly, and have an earthy smell. Use it as a soil amendment for your garden, potted plants, or lawn.

How Long Does it Take for Compost to be Ready?

Compost can take anywhere from a few months to a year to fully break down, depending on factors like temperature, moisture, aeration, and the mix of greens and browns. Turning your compost regularly and keeping it moist (but not too wet) can speed up the process.

What Should I Not Put in My Compost Bin?

Avoid adding meat, dairy, oily foods, pet waste, and chemically treated materials to your compost. These can attract pests, cause odor issues, or introduce harmful bacteria. Stick to fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, leaves, and grass clippings for best results.

Download my free list with do’s and don’ts when composting so you know exactly what you can and can’t put in your compost bin.

Why Does My Compost Smell Bad?

A healthy compost pile should have an earthy smell. If it smells rotten or like ammonia, it’s likely too wet or has too much nitrogen-rich material (greens). Add more browns (dry leaves, shredded paper, or straw) to balance it out and turn the pile to improve airflow.

Can I Compost in Winter?

Yes! Composting slows down in colder months, but it doesn’t stop completely. To keep decomposition going, insulate your bin with straw, leaves, or cardboard, continue adding materials, and turn the pile on warmer days.

Do I Need Worms in My Compost Bin?

Worms aren’t necessary, but they can help break down organic matter faster. If you want to compost indoors or speed things up, you can try vermicomposting (worm composting) using red wigglers in a specialized worm bin.

Our Composting Story so Far

Tom and I bought a compost bin but unfortunately, I can not recommend this type of bin. As you can see in the image below the bin has completely burst. The corners of the compost bin have small slides that are supposed to hold the whole bin together.

We have a few old pallets lying around so maybe in the future we will use these to make a somewhat more durable composting bin. We’ll keep you posted on how to make a compost bin out of pallet wood and how we use it in our garden.

Tips for Successful Composting

• Don’t add meat, dairy, or oily foods to your compost bin. These materials can attract pests and slow down the composting process.
• Keep your compost bin moist but not wet. If it’s too dry, the composting process will slow down.
• Cut up large pieces of organic material to help them decompose faster. Remember the smaller the pieces of your material to compost the faster the process will go.
• Try to get a 50:50 mix of brown and green material. Too much green material will get you slimy compost, and too much brown will slow the composting process down.
• Avoid adding weeds or diseased plant material to your compost bin, as they can survive the composting process and end up in your garden. Only add weeds or plant material with for instance powdery mildew when you know your compost bin will reach high enough temperatures that it will kill the diseased plants or weeds.
• You can use a compost thermometer to monitor the temperature of your compost pile. The ideal temperature for composting is between 55 – 65 °C (130 – 150 °F).

Let me know—how do you compost your kitchen scraps and garden waste? Download my free printable list, laminate it, or hang it in your kitchen cabinet for easy access. You can easily check which materials you can and can’t put in your compost bin. I wish you lots and lots of compost so you can provide your vegetable garden with lots and lots of nutrients!

This post may contain one or more affiliate links, which means I will get a small commission when you buy a product via the provided link at no cost to you! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full disclaimer here.

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