Getting Started

Before starting a compost pile in your yard, contact your city recycling coordinator for composting requirements.

Container

Buy or make your own compost bin. You can compost in a simple pile, but using a container or bin helps your compost pile retain heat and moisture and look neat and some cities require that you use a container to compost.

Location

Place your bin in a convenient location for easy access. Pick a spot in your yard that's at least partially shaded. Other considerations:

• Convenient for you to add materials
• Access to water
• Good drainage - place on bare ground
• Away from large trees - their roots steal nutrients and can grow into the compost
• Not against a building where the compost can rot siding and other structural materials.

Size

A pile that is 1 cubic yard (3 feet high, 3 feet wide, 3 feet long) is big enough to retain heat and moisture, but small enough to be easily turned. Home compost piles shouldn't be larger than 5' x 5' x 5'. 

A Recipe for Good Clean Dirt

Like a simple recipe, your compost pile needs the right mix of ingredients in order to produce the best results. A successful compost pile requires three things:

Air Circulation

Microbes require air, otherwise the anaerobic microbes will take over, and they are stinky! Air can be incorporated into the pile by turning the pile with a shovel or hoe, or adding bulky, oddly shaped material to make little spaces.

Moisture

Microbes "tiny microscopic bugs" also require moisture. The microbes live in the thin sheath of water that coats the organic material in the compost pile. If there is no water, the microbes will dehydrate and die. But too much water will displace all of the air space causing anaerobic conditions.

In general, the mixture should feel about as damp as a wrung-out sponge. Pick up a handful of the mixture and squeeze: if water drips out - that's too much; if the material falls to pieces as soon as you open your hand - that's too dry; if the mixture stays in a clump for a few seconds before breaking apart - that's just right.

The Right Ingredients

As a general rule, add three parts of dry ingredients - leaves or dry grass - to one part of wet food waste.Add food and yard waste including:

• Vegetable and fruit scraps, rinds and peels
• Coffee grounds and filters
• Tea leaves and tea bags
• Egg shells
• Nut shells
• Plant trimmings
• Grass and leaves

Do Not Add the Following

• Butter, cheese, or dairy products

• Meat or bones
• Gravies or sauces
• Grease
• Pet waste
• Diseased plants
• Weeds gone to seed
• Ash from charcoal or coal
• Branches and wood chunks

How to Use Finished Compost

Once you have some nice clean compost you can use it in the following ways to improve your yard and garden:

• Mix compost in with your soil to improve quality.
• Use it to fill in low spots in your yard.
• Use it as mulch for landscaping and garden plants.
• Mix compost in the soil for potted plants.
• Top dress your lawn to retain moisture.

For more yard and garden information, visit www.extension.umn.edu/gardeninfo.