Your interest in composting at home is worth embracing: Sure, there’s a learning curve when it comes to layering and watering your pile, but once you get the hang of things, the process is pretty simple.

Enter the world of home composting and you’ll get the keys to a club of devoted food scrap recyclers who are as passionate about their nutrient-dense soil — and fresh home-grown vegetables — as they are about reducing their personal carbon footprint.

How to start a backyard compost pile in 5 steps

People tend to think of compost piles as, well, a giant pile of food scraps and leaves. But there are other options. Selecting a setup for your composting endeavor is the first step towards making your own black gold. 

1. Choosing a setup

There are two primary composting methods for backyard composting: piles/heaps and bins/tumblers. A compost pile requires at least 1 cubic yard of space in your backyard, and a wood, wire, or cinder block enclosure. Composting bins or tumblers are fully enclosed containers that either sit on top of the ground or are slightly raised. Bins and tumblers come in a variety of sizes, and the full enclosure can help control certain conditions, like temperature. 

2. Choosing a location

Once you decide how you’re going to compost, the next step is deciding where it’s going to happen. Compost piles can thrive in either sun or shade, so that’s not a concern. But the EPA does have a few guidelines for choosing a spot:

• You can easily access it in every season, including winter

• It’s not close to a fence

• There’s a nearby water source

• There’s good drainage (meaning water won’t pool or run where you don’t want it to)

3. Collect enough greens and browns to start your pile

To start your pile, you’ll need a good base of greens and browns. Greens provide nutrients and moisture, browns provide energy, and together, they do the magic work of composting. This base is not just a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have. 

• Browns. Brown materials are carbon-rich materials that belong at the very bottom of the base — think of them as the widest tier on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Plain brown paper, egg cartons, cardboard that isn't wax coated or in colors other than brown,, and dry leaves all fall into the browns category, as do plant stalks and twigs (which can be beige or even light green — don’t let the color naming scheme confuse you). 

• Greens. Greens are nitrogen-rich organic materials, and they go between the brown layers. Whereas browns might run the gamut from light green to dark brown, green materials cover an even wider color spectrum. Greens encompass most of the food scraps you would generate from your home kitchen — this includes everything from coffee grounds and tea bags to egg shells and scraps from fruits and vegetables. You can also toss grass clippings and other wet yard waste onto the green layer. 

You’ll need about two to three times the volume of browns as you need greens. Collect your browns in a pile outside until you’re ready to start. Meanwhile, collect greens and save them in your freezer — that way, they don’t start to smell inside. You may also want to chop up larger greens (like corn cobs and other big veggie stalks), as smaller pieces decompose more quickly. 

If you’re freezing scraps, here’s one crucial thing to remember: Not everything leftover from dinner can be composted at home. Generally speaking, meat shouldn’t be composted at home, and nor should dairy. Why? First, they can attract pests — and no one wants rodents invading their pile. Second, they quickly tend to smell really, really bad Even proper layering might not be able to keep out the stink if you toss ribs and a wheel of brie into the pile. 

You can also use a Mill food recycler to preprocess your scraps. Mill’s powerful dry and grind system destroys pathogens while keeping all the good stuff intact — leaving you with dry Food Grounds that you can easily add to your pile. With Mill, you can compost meat and dairy with no fear of pests. Another benefit? Mill Food Grounds have a higher surface area for microbes to munch on, which leads to faster composting. 

4. Build your pile

To construct your pile, you’ll start with a base of about four to six inches of browns on the bottom and two inches of greens on top. Things like wood chips or twigs and small branches that allow for drainage and some air circulation, which will help the food decompose, are ideal for the brown base. 

From there, it’s all about blending the right mix. Composting expert Andrew Carpenter of Northern Tilth explains: “You’ll have to go through some trial and error to determine the blends of your materials that work the best. If you determine that your blend is two parts brown materials to one part green material on a volumetric basis, simply add two buckets of browns to one bucket of greens, blend them thoroughly together with a pitchfork and continue this until your pile is full. There is no need for the browns and greens to be layered; layering is simply a visual tool, the microbes will compost the material faster if the browns and greens are thoroughly blended.”

Water is also an essential component of the composting process, so remember to water your compost occasionally to ensure that it continues to break down. In general, your compost pile should maintain the dampness of a wrung-out sponge. 

Carpenter suggests: “Check the moisture of the blend using the squeeze test and add more water with a hose if needed to reach the proper moisture content.”

5. Let it decompose

It’s natural to be excited about the nutrient-dense organic matter you’re creating, but it’s important to let it take its time to get good, finished compost. The general rule is that you should let a compost pile sit for at least three days before turning it, but this largely depends on the temperature and moisture level of your compost. Composting happens most efficiently when the internal temperature is between 131 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. That high temperature will kill unwanted hideaways like weed seeds while breaking down the organic matter. Temperatures begin to climb when the millions of microorganisms in your compost pile begin to break down the organic matter. It’s a good sign if you see steam coming from your compost pile. It is also a sign that it may be time to give your pile a turn.

As you continue to add to and layer your compost pile, remember to reintroduce moisture as well. High temperatures will cause the material to dry out quicker and slow decomposition.

Do I need to turn my compost?

The necessity of turning your composting pile depends on the method of composting you use. 

Hot composting does involve turning, as its success depends on the internal temperature of the pile. Turning helps aerate the compost, which can either let excess heat escape or provide necessary oxygen to the microorganisms and help the pile heat up. The target temperature for your pile is 104 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. If it dips below 104 degrees Fahrenheit, turn it to get it heating. If it’s risen above 140, turn it to cool. If it’s in between, leave it alone for a while. A good composting thermometer will help you keep track of what needs to be done. 

But there is such a thing as no-turn composting, or cold composting. This method involves specially constructing your layers with coarse materials. This allows for ample aeration so that it’s not necessary to turn the pile in order to achieve uniform decomposition. While this method might sound easier, the conditions necessary for no-turn composting (that perfect balance of nitrogen and carbon-rich materials, good airflow, and adequate moisture) can be difficult to achieve.

Troubleshooting your home compost

There are two common road bumps people run into: pests and smells. The good news is that there are ways to manage them both, and you can generally feed two birds with one croissant. 

That croissant? Proper maintenance. Consistently layering your compost pile or bin correctly (two to three parts browns to one part greens) will help ensure that food scraps are appropriately covered so they don’t attract unwanted guests and keep any unwanted smells from escaping from beneath the brown layers. Turning your pile is a great way to make sure that the microbes have enough oxygen to keep eating. This will also help to eliminate odors. If your pile starts to smell, give it a turn.

Finally, if you’re using a backyard compost bin, make sure it’s got a well-fitting lid and that there aren’t any large gaps or holes in it. This is the most clear cut way to keep away smells and uninvited guests. 

If you follow those instructions and do your due diligence, you can be home-composting and reducing your environmental impact in no time. Once you’ve got usable compost, add it to tree and garden beds or use it in your lawn as a soil amendment. 

Sources:

1. United States Environmental Protection Agency: “Composting at Home.” December 18, 2023. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home

2. Cornell Waste Management Institute: “Composting: Balancing Your Greens and Browns.” https://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/balancing.pdf

3. Northern Tilth: “Northern Tilth.” http://www.northerntilth.com/

4. United States Environmental Protection Agency: “Approaches to Composting.” December 12, 2023. https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/approaches-composting#methods

5. Oregon State University Extension Service: “Three Methods for No-Turn Cold Composting.” July, 2017. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/soil-compost/three-methods-no-turn-cold-composting