How to Start a Compost Pile: The Ultimate Guide for Gardeners and Chicken Keepers
Composting is one of the best things you can do for your garden and the environment. By composting, you minimize household waste, reduce unpleasant trash odors, and create nutrient-rich soil for your plants. If you’re raising chickens, composting also provides an excellent way to recycle their bedding and manure into something beneficial for your garden. Let’s dive into the basics of starting a compost pile and making the most of your organic waste!
Benefits of Composting
Minimizes Waste – Reduces the amount of food and yard waste going to the landfill.
No More Stinky Trash – Composting prevents food waste from rotting in your trash can.
Reuses Kitchen Waste in the Garden – Turns scraps into valuable nutrients for plants.
Creates Healthy, Productive Soil – Enhances soil structure, moisture retention, and fertility.
How to Start Your Compost Pile
Get a Compost Bin – Choose a bin that suits your space and composting needs. This is the one I personally use: Click here to check it out. It has a built-in aeration system, so it doesn’t need to be turned.
Buy Red Worms – Pick up a bag of red worms from a local nursery to help break down materials faster.
Prepare the Base – Add worms and a small amount of finished compost or soil at the bottom of the bin to introduce beneficial microbes.
Keep a Kitchen Scrap Bucket – Store food scraps in a small, covered container in your kitchen and empty it into the compost bin every day or two. This makes composting easy and convenient while preventing odors inside your home.
Layer Your Materials – Start alternating layers of food waste (greens) and dried leaves, straw, or cardboard (browns). Continue layering as you produce more organic waste.
Monitor Heat – As the compost pile builds up, the older material at the bottom will begin to break down and generate heat—this is a sign that the composting process is working.
Check for Readiness – Over time, the material at the bottom will transform into dark, rich soil. Pull the door off the composter to check. When the compost is crumbly and has an earthy smell, it’s ready to be used as a natural fertilizer for your garden.
What Can You Compost?
Your compost pile should have a mix of green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (carbon-rich) materials.
✅ Greens (Nitrogen-Rich Materials)
Fruit and vegetable scraps
Coffee grounds and filters
Eggshells
Grass clippings
Chicken manure
Fresh garden trimmings
✅ Browns (Carbon-Rich Materials)
Dried leaves
Straw or hay
Shredded newspaper and cardboard
Pine shavings (great from chicken coops!)
Paper towels (as long as they are not greasy)
What Should You Avoid Composting?
❌ Meat, fish, and dairy (attracts pests and smells bad) ❌ Oily or greasy foods (slow to decompose) ❌ Pet waste (may contain harmful pathogens) ❌ Diseased plants (can spread disease in the garden) ❌ Weeds with seeds (unless compost gets hot enough to kill them)
Tip: If your compost pile doesn’t get hot enough, weed seeds may survive and spread when you use the compost in your garden.
Chopping and Shredding for Faster Composting
Smaller materials break down faster. Corn cobs can take months to decompose, but if chopped or shredded, they break down much more quickly.
Tree branches should be chipped or shredded before adding them to your compost.
Leaves should be allowed to dry first—this turns them into a valuable brown material.
Short on browns? Use shredded cardboard or dried pine shavings.
Balancing Greens and Browns
Maintaining the right balance is key to successful composting. A good rule of thumb is 2-3 parts brown for every 1 part green. If your pile smells bad, you likely have too many greens and need to add more browns. If it’s not breaking down quickly, you might need more greens or moisture.
Using Chicken Bedding in Compost
Chicken bedding, like pine shavings or straw, is an excellent addition to compost. It provides a balance of browns (shavings) and greens (manure). Be sure to let it age before using in the garden, as fresh manure can be too strong for plants.
Compost Timing and Red Worms
A well-maintained compost pile can break down in as little as 2-3 months, while less-managed piles may take up to a year.
Adding red worms (vermicomposting) helps speed up decomposition and produces nutrient-rich worm castings for the soil.
Types of Compost Bins
There are several composting methods to fit different needs:
Open Piles – Simple but may attract pests.
Compost Bins – Contained, neater, and better for urban gardens.
Tumbling Bins – Easy to aerate and speed up composting.
Vermicompost Bins – Uses worms to break down waste quickly.
Aeration and Moisture Control
Aeration: Turning the compost regularly introduces oxygen and speeds up decomposition. Tumbling bins make this easier.
Moisture: Compost should be damp, like a wrung-out sponge. If too dry, add water; if too wet, mix in more browns.
Final Thoughts
Starting a compost pile is an easy and rewarding way to reduce waste, improve soil health, and create a sustainable garden system. Whether you’re composting kitchen scraps, chicken bedding, or yard waste, following these tips will help you create rich, fertile compost that your plants (and chickens!) will love.
Are you composting yet? Share your composting tips and experiences in the comments!
