Composting Basics: How It Works and How to Start Your Own Pile

Compost transforms any soil into a healthy growing medium—improving structure, water retention, aeration, pH stability, and nutrient availability. It encourages earthworms, suppresses soil-borne diseases, and reduces erosion. The process mirrors nature’s decomposition in forests, where organic matter slowly becomes humus, the foundation of fertile soil.

How Composting Works

Microorganisms and earthworms break down organic materials (leaves, plants, kitchen scraps) into dark, crumbly, soil-like humus. In a managed pile, we optimize conditions—moisture, air, particle size, and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio—to accelerate this natural process.

Starting Your Own Compost

• System: Passive pile in a bin, enclosure, or simple heap. Size: 3×3 ft minimum for small gardens; up to 5–7 ft around for larger.
• Ingredients: Alternate layers of greens (nitrogen: grass clippings, kitchen scraps—veggie/fruit peels, coffee grounds, eggshells) and browns (carbon: leaves, newspaper, straw, small woody bits). Never add meat, fat, bones, or dairy.
• Moisture & air: Keep damp like a wrung-out sponge. Turn frequently with a fork to aerate and speed decomposition.
• Timeline: Weeks to a year, depending on materials, size, and management.

Tailor the system to your space and needs. Even a small, well-tended bin produces garden gold.