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Home Compost Guide: Greens

Composting is a natural process where microorganisms break down organic materials like food scraps and garden waste into a nutrient-rich soil amendment called compost. To make compost, you need a mix of "greens" high in nitrogen and "browns" high in carbon, along with water and air. Proper composting reduces waste and enriches gardens without odors when materials are balanced and the pile is turned regularly.

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Diana Maletzky-Geingob
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62 views2 pages

Home Compost Guide: Greens

Composting is a natural process where microorganisms break down organic materials like food scraps and garden waste into a nutrient-rich soil amendment called compost. To make compost, you need a mix of "greens" high in nitrogen and "browns" high in carbon, along with water and air. Proper composting reduces waste and enriches gardens without odors when materials are balanced and the pile is turned regularly.

Uploaded by

Diana Maletzky-Geingob
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Home compost guide

Composting is a natural process where micro-organisms, insects and earthworms


decompose organic matter such as food scraps and garden waste into a soil-like
material. Compost is a rich source of nutrients for your garden. Composting also helps
to reduce the amount of rubbish you throw away, which saves you money, and helps
Wellington’s environment by reducing the amount of waste going into our landfills.

Ingredients for composting


Greens + Browns + Water + Air = Compost
For a healthy compost mixture you need a good balance of these four ingredients.

Materials that can be composted

GREENS (high nitrogen content) BROWNS (high carbon content)


• Vegetable scraps • Tree clippings (only small twigs and branches)
YES • Fruit scraps
• Coffee grounds and filters
• Dried leaves
• Straw and untreated sawdust
• Tea leaves and bags • Shredded paper towels, paper serviettes and tissues
• Lawn clippings • Shredded paper or cardboard
• Plant clippings • Egg shells
• Flowers • Breads, grains and pasta

Paper products and cardboard should be ripped into small pieces prior to composting and soaked in water for the best results.
Twigs and small branches should not be thicker than your finger and should be broken into small pieces for the best results.

Materials that cannot be composted

• Meat, fish or poultry • Wood or timber


NO • Bones • Glass, metals or plastics
• Weeds • Styrofoam


• Plant residue with chemical spray • Liquids
• Cooking oils or fats • Hazardous substances
• Dairy products • Dog or cat waste

PDWCC57729
Odours
A properly built compost heap will have a small amount of odour
but it should not be unpleasant. Strong and unpleasant odours
usually result from an unbalanced compost heap such as:
composting grass clippings on their own, adding too many food
scraps or adding the wrong types of foods. Bad odours will also
Making compost occur if the heap becomes too wet or has too little air. To keep
odours down, turn your compost heap each time you add material
Step 1
to enhance aeration and make sure not to over-water your heap.
Choose your site. Compost bins or heaps should be located
in a sheltered, level area of your garden that has good
drainage and access. Don’t make it difficult for yourself by
Animals and pests
putting the bin in a hard to reach place. The site should Adding food to a compost heap makes it more attractive to pests. In
urban areas like Wellington, the best way to avoid pests is to use an
ideally be within reach of a garden hose and preferably not
enclosed compost bin like those offered at home and garden stores.
in full sun. The compost heap should sit directly on the soil
or a grass area.
Climate
Step 2 The decomposition process that breaks down your food scraps and
garden waste into compost is faster in the warm summer months
Before positioning the bin, turn over the soil with a garden
than in the winter. Make sure you cover your compost to keep out
fork or spade on the site to add drainage and encourage the rain.
earthworms into the heap.

Step 3 Kitchen bin


To ensure good drainage and aeration try to start the heap To make things convenient for you, it is ideal to have a small
with a 10cm-15cm layer of coarse material such as tree kitchen bin to store food scraps as they are produced. When the
clippings or mature compost (desired but not essential). bin is full you can transfer the food scraps to your compost bin
outside. Ideas for kitchen bins include 10 litre buckets, used ice
cream containers, old plastic containers or small rubbish bins. To
Step 4 keep odours down it is preferable to have a lid and to line your
Add a bucketful of greens (fruit, vegetables, lawn clippings) kitchen bin with newspaper. The newspaper can be thrown into
and a bucketful of browns (leaves, twigs, paper). Add water the compost bin after each empty. Make sure you only place
if the mixture is dry as the compost needs to be moist. The acceptable food scraps in your kitchen bin.
heap should heat up and shrink after a few days.
Mature compost
Step 5 It takes a while for compost to mature. Turning the compost will
Continue to add green and brown material to the heap. The speed up the process and it should take around three to four
best compost is made from a 50/50 split of green and brown months if the compost is regularly turned. If the compost is not
material. When the bin is full, close the lid and leave the turned, it should take up to nine months to a year for the compost
compost to mature. to mature. Make sure to check the moisture content of the compost
and add water to the heap if the material is dry. The compost
should have a moisture level similar to a squeezed-out sponge.
Step 6
For optimal results, turn the heap every few weeks to increase Ideally the finished product should look like potting mix but your
air circulation and expose fresh material to insects and other compost does not have to be perfect. As long as most of the material
organisms. Add water if the heap becomes dry. is broken down (egg shells will not completely disappear) and you
have material with a soil like structure, your compost is ready to
add to your garden.

Using the compost in your garden


You can use your compost at any time of the year. Early spring is
a good time to add compost to your garden to help boost soil
fertility, soil moisture retention and plant growth. The compost
should be mixed into the top 5cm-10cm of your garden soil. If
your compost is quite coarse you might want to pick out some of
the branches to make it finer.

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