From Kitchen Scraps To Garden Gold

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What if some of the waste going into your kitchen bin each week could instead help feed your garden?

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Starting a compost cycle at home does not have to be complicated, and even a small backyard can have a simple system that turns everyday food scraps and garden waste into useful compost.

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At its most basic, composting is about combining different types of organic material and allowing them to break down naturally.

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There are plenty of everyday items that can become part of the compost pile, including:

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• Fruit and vegetable scraps

• Fruit and vegetable peels

• Coffee grounds and coffee filters

• Tea leaves and tea bags, provided the bag is compostable

• Crushed eggshells

• Fresh grass clippings

• Dry leaves

• Small garden prunings

• Flowers and plant trimmings

• Weeds before they have gone to seed

• Straw and untreated hay

• Shredded newspaper

• Plain, non-glossy paper

• Uncoated cardboard, torn or cut into smaller pieces

• Small amounts of untreated sawdust or wood shavings

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A good place to start is with a compost bin, tumbler or designated area of the garden. It should have some airflow and ideally be positioned somewhere convenient, rather than hidden away where it will be forgotten.

The trick is finding a balance between ‘green’ and ‘brown’ materials.

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Green materials are generally wetter and richer in nitrogen, such as fruit and vegetable scraps, fresh grass clippings and coffee grounds. Brown materials provide carbon and include dry leaves, cardboard, paper and other dry garden material.

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Rather than filling the compost with one type of material, try to mix the two. If the pile becomes very wet or starts to smell, it may need more dry material and airflow. If it is very dry and nothing seems to be breaking down, adding some moisture can help.

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Food scraps can be added gradually. Chopping larger pieces into smaller pieces can also help them break down faster.

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There are some things best left out of a basic backyard compost system. Meat, bones, dairy products, oils and greasy foods can attract unwanted pests and create problems. Avoid adding pet waste, diseased plants and materials that may contain chemicals or contaminants.

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A healthy compost pile should smell earthy rather than rotten. Turning or mixing it occasionally helps introduce oxygen and distributes moisture and materials throughout the pile.

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Eventually, the scraps and garden waste you started with will become a dark, crumbly material that can be added to garden beds or mixed into soil.

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