How to Compost to Make Organic Fertilizer

To save money on groceries, more people are thinking about growing a garden to help feed their families. Composting is a great way to make organic fertilizer to use in the garden. The addition of organic fertilizer builds up the garden soil by adding nutrients. Since it is organic, the fertilizer does not contain pesticides or herbicides and will not harm the people who eat the food from the garden.

The organic materials that get added to compost piles, compost bins, or a compost tumbler are things that typically get thrown in the trash. By composting these items instead, a family or individual can be creating organic compost year-round that will make their garden grow and be bountiful all summer long.

Use Compost Piles, Compost Bins, or Compost Tumbler

The choices of how to compost include using the following methods:

• Compost piles are simply areas in the yard or garden where waste products are piled, allowed to decompose, and scooped out when they have turned to compost to use as fertilizer.
• Compost bins are enclosures, either hand made or bought, that the waste materials are thrown into to better contain the organic materials until it turns to compost.
• A compost tumbler is similar to a compost bin but is designed to be turned so the compost material can be tumbled instead of having to manually turn the compost to aerate it.

The Basics of Composting

The simplest way to compost materials is to keep the organic materials that are good for composting and piling it together. The methods described above all use the basic principles of adding organic materials, water, and air to allow the products to get hot enough to breakdown and create rich compost.

Add the items in the list below to the compost bin in small enough pieces that they will breakdown easily. For example, large newspaper can be ripped into individual pages then torn in half. Spread layers of food scraps, newspaper, grass clippings or other organic material, a small amount of manure if desired and water till damp. Continue adding organic material as it becomes available.

Turn the compost pile or bin weekly to help the organic materials get mixed into the hot part of the compost to breakdown faster. A small compost pile can be ready to use in a few months if it is consistently turned or aerated and kept damp but not wet.

Compost Organic Materials

Using the following organic materials will make organic fertilizer from the composted items:

• apples
• avocados
• bananas
• carrots
• cucumbers
• grapefruit, oranges, lemons
• peppers
• potatoes
• strawberries
• coffee grounds and filters (unbleached filters are best)
• eggshells
• cardboard egg cartons
• dryer lint, from natural fabrics like cotton and linen
• newspapers
• shredded bills, white paper with black ink
• leaves and grass clippings
• peat moss
• chicken, horse, or rabbit manure

Materials to Leave Out of the Compost Piles

Some materials are best not composted for several reasons. They may attract rodents or flies, they may not breakdown as efficiently, or they may contain chemicals that would contaminate the compost. These include the following:

• bread and other grains (because rodents like them and will be attracted to the compost pile)
• cheese
• eggs
• meat and bones
• oily foods like dressings or fried food of any kind
• colored and glossy paper
• cat and dog feces
• pine needles, because they are too acidic
• weeds that have gone to seed, which will grow in the compost creating more weeds
• dryer lint from clothes made of synthetic fibers

Compost That Will Grow a Good Garden

Using these tips won’t guarantee a great-producing garden, but they will help gardeners make good fertilizer that makes the harvest safe for their family to eat. Young children can toss food scraps into compost piles, and older children can help turn the compost, aerating it so the materials break down faster producing good compost quickly.