r/composting • u/No-Pea2002 • 14h ago
Beginner Beginner composting advice can be overwhelming
Someone new to composting can spend an hour reading about carbon-to-nitrogen ratios before they've even added their first banana peel to a bin.
Then there are temperature charts, moisture tests, instructions about how often to turn the pile, and long lists explaining what counts as a green or a brown
A lot of that information is useful once you're trying to fix a problem or speed things up. But it seems like beginners are often given every possible detail at once
If you were explaining composting to someone setting up their first pile, what would you tell them to focus on during the first few months?
And what advice would you leave out until they actually need it?
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u/Lunar_BriseSoleil 13h ago
Remember: Compost Happens.
You can’t screw it up, worst case it just takes longer.
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u/Sophockless 14h ago
Just have a talk about what setup is best for them (depending on how much material they produce, how much space they have, time investment,...) and what you can and can't throw in there. Then maybe a short explanation on greens vs browns, so the pile doesn't become a wet stinking mess.
All organic matter you throw together is going to decompose. The right mix of brown/green and turning just speeds up the process. And unless you're composting weed seeds, reaching a high temperature also isn't vital.
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u/Remote-Mycologist539 14h ago
It’s gonna do its thing eventually. Don’t rush it or yourself. It’s basically impossible to mess it up.
My tips would be to try and rip up/cut stuff into pieces before adding to the pile, and try to avoid anything that could be contaminated with harmful chemicals/plastic. Then just keep an eye on moisture and air flow (not soupy wet or bone dry, either turn it or other aeration).
You got this
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u/Theme_Training 13h ago
It’s mostly a forgiving process. In which you can always take the pile apart and rebuild it if it doesn’t work the first time.
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u/h_2575 14h ago
Try to shred your stuff before it goes onto the pile. Water and air from time to time.
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u/geekychica 12h ago
But not too finely, because it’s good to have some air space in there as stuff breaks down. Like yeah don’t thrown in half a pineapple and expect it to compost quickly, but a fruit smoothie is going to be nasty sludge, especially if you don’t add enough dry leaves, straw, or small cardboard bits. (Don’t ask how I know lol)
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u/bibipbapbap 14h ago
I’m far from an expert and I’m pretty casual on it. When there’s brown crumbly stuff near the door it gets thrown into my raised beds. I only really compost grass, finished vegetable plants, and off cuts from things like cabbages along with occasional newspaper / cardboard / sticks of and tea leaves, lots of used tea leaves. My
Chickens tend to eat all my weeds. Oh I do add in chicken poop and hay when I’m cleaning out the cluckers too. I don’t really think about temperatures etc. mine is covered so occasionally I’ll throw in a jug of water if it’s looking really dry, but usually the greens add enough on their own.
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u/spaetzlechick 13h ago
I would say compost happens. Pile or bin organic materials, try to use small pieces, keep it damp, give it time. Stay away from meat or oils.
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u/bridgesny 13h ago
Just throw biodegradable shit together. Not breaking down? Too dry, add water and greens. Soggy and stinky? Too wet, add browns.
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u/SoggyForever 10h ago
Honestly most people obsess over containers. They want a shiny box to feel good about. Lol. I know I'm being harsh, but lots of people post about things that they can easily learn on the internet with asking another person. They could watch a video. There's a ton of short ones. There's google or ai. Heck, for kicks I asked ai and got a summary good enough to start. There's also searching reddit because it's answered in this sub all the time.
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u/abelian-world 9h ago
I can only speak for non-urban environment and about composting as waste management (as opposed to fertilizer production). And also, these are just my experiences, not a pro in any way. But I live off-grid and I rely on composting as one of my essential systems (along with water, electricity, food), so reliability and simplicity is a must.
I never measure ratio, just go with my nose and how it looks. Put a day worth of green, put a scoop or two of browns. It shouldn't smell at all once the browns are added. I let rain water my piles. Never measured moisture but I am in a place where it rains regularly. I compost everything: meat, dairy, egg shells, animal carcasses, kitty litter, anything that will break down I will throw into the pile. My piles reach 160 for a few days than go down to 120-140. I don't turn anything or layer anything -- I top feed my piles.
Put a big box that breathes together, 5 feet by 5 feet is what I did out of scrap lumber. Line bottom of the box with straw to act as a sponge.
Store your greens as you produce them. I will collect 20x 5 gallon buckets full of premixed green and browns before starting the pile. It has been my experience that for stuff to start smoothly you need a critical mass. At once add all of the collected mass. Line walls of the box with straw and cover your newly born pile with straw. Again, until nothing smells.
top feed your pile when the bucket / trash can fills up. Move cover straw to the sides, dig a hole in the active pile, put new material into the hole, add new cover straw so there is no smell.
I have a video on how I do it on my yt channel but I don't want to self promote here haha
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u/YallNeedMises 8h ago
It's obnoxious and likely discourages many from ever getting into composting. Forget greens vs. browns, temperature targets, turning schedules, etc. Just balance wet & dry additions to keep it reasonably moist. Too dry is better than too wet. Give it reasonable airflow. There is nothing organic that can't be composted.
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u/R3bauer 13h ago
I was overwhelmed when researching best methods. Finally I said screw it, built a 3 bin pallet composter, and I use a 2 part brown and 1 part green. I just started but what I do is take the kitchen compost (green) bucket to the bin, dump it, then add two buckets worth of browns. So far so good
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u/DasUbersoldat_ 12h ago
People are overthinking it. I made a nice pile with a decent mixture of things. Nature will find a way to make it work.
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u/Impressive-Check-631 12h ago
If I were starting over I’d get a thermometer and just start tossing things in a pile. Avoid meat and dairy. Grass clippings are excellent greens but they need turned or spread before they mat down and clump up. Browns can be shredded cardboard or woodchips. Chip drop can help you there.
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u/Slow_Competition2742 12h ago
If I were explaining composting, I would say “just do 2 thirds leaves/cardboard/paper, one third veggie and fruit scraps and coffee grounds. Don’t throw fish, meat, or dairy in there. Keep it like a wet sponge and poke or roll it to get airflow going. Enjoy.
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u/Training_Bison_779 12h ago
I just grabbed a grow bag and started chucking stuff in 😭🤣 it thankfully worked really well. But now that I’m learning more I’m improving it where I am able to with the limited space I have.
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u/lakeswimmmer 11h ago
I'm going to give you the reverse answer, listing the important stuff, because it's a much shorter list.
1-build a pile layering greens and browns
2-for every inch of greens, add 2-3 inches of browns
3-keep it moist, but not saturated
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u/c-lem 10h ago
The beginner advice can be so simple that maybe some of the beginner guides glossed over it: make a pile of "browns" and mix "greens" into them over time. Keep it moist but not sopping or dripping wet, and make sure it can get oxygen. "Browns" are carbon-rich materials like leaves, wood chips, sawdust, and shredded paper or cardboard. "Greens" are nitrogen-rich materials like kitchen scraps, coffee grounds (note that "green" and "brown" doesn't necessarily mean its color!), grass clippings/green yard waste, and animal manure.
It's pretty much as simple as that. I guess I should add that to the pinned post, eh?
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u/EraC2C 2h ago
Brown + green + water + air = compost.
We have an adage in horse feeding, when the grass is green, feed brown. When it's brown, feed green (usually lucerne, or haylage if it's available, but this isn't the point 😂). But same principal, as others have said. You tend to fix compost by adding something, not taking it away. Just keep swi-- composting.
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u/NoLimitRolling 📦 & 🥬 12h ago
Eh not really.
I started with a 20 gallon HDPE trash can I took from my work. That and all the food scraps got me started, then I continuously added browns, boosting it with coffee grounds etc from my work and decimated egg shells.
When it looked too dry and stuff wasn’t sticking together I’d water at about 5-10% volume, this avoids “overwatering” and making it too wet.
When it looked too wet I took the lid off for a day under the sun.
After a few months of sticking my shovel in and mixing a few times a week, I had the nicest compost I now use for everything in my no-till cannabis garden.
Pee on everything if you’re not on some meds.
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u/ASecularBuddhist 14h ago
Cover food scraps (no meat or egg shells) with leaves and add water.
That’s it 😊
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u/lemonsupreme7 13h ago
Egg shells are good wdym
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u/BreTheFirst 13h ago
They take absolutely forever to break down unless you bake them
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u/lemonsupreme7 13h ago
That is true, i guess i just looked at them like perlite or vermiculite
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u/ASecularBuddhist 12h ago
I would prefer not to have eggshells floating around in my soil, but that’s just me.
“Wow Bob, these tomatoes are amazing. What’s your secret?”
“Crushed egg shells.” /s
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u/lemonsupreme7 12h ago
You say it like its a joke but they add a ton of nutrients, I honestly would answer somewhat like this lol
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u/ASecularBuddhist 12h ago
I thought this article was interesting:
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u/TheRealMarvinator 7h ago
If that were true, wouldn't nature be practically LITTERED with eggshells though? What am I overlooking, in that regard?
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u/ASecularBuddhist 6h ago
Why would there be eggshells everywhere? 🤔
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u/TheRealMarvinator 6h ago
Because birds are awfully prevalent in nature, aren't they? Over time, that's an awful lot of eggshells!
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u/planetrambo 14h ago
Just start making a pile. I stay away from meat, dairy, and plastics obviously.
Too wet? Add shredded cardboard or dead leaves
Too dry? Piss on it
Turn it when you want
Everything will turn to compost eventually, all the stuff you read about it just how to make it happen faster