Get into Composting

Sick of the food waste you end up with when weaning and want to get in to composting? Or maybe you already do, but you find your compost pile takes ages to break down, doesn’t heat up or even has a bad smell? You may not have the right mix for a good compost…

There are 2 key components you need to be a successful composter:

🍃Greens Nitrogen and 🍂Brown Carbon

You need both to ensure your pile works properly. Below are some examples of what you can add to your pile for each…

Greens (Nitrogen)

🥦Fruit and Veg Scraps

☕Coffee Grounds

💩Manure (from animals that do not eat meat)

🌱Weeds

🌿Plant & Grass Clippings

Browns (Carbon)

🥚Egg shells

📄Shredded paper

🪵Non-treated wood shavings & sawdust

🍂Dry leaves

Now the ratio of these is debatable amongst composters, some will say a 50/50 split, others say you need a 3:1 ratio of carbon to nitrogen, others will say you need more nitrogen. A lot of beginner composters will start off with a 1:1 ratio and adjust accordingly depending on what you add to your pile (some items are higher in nitrogen than others and same for carbon too). But the main rule of thumb… if your pile isn’t heating up, add more greens. If it’s starting to smell bad, add more browns.

Also make sure to aerate your pile every few days whilst it’s heating up by agitating it with a pitchfork.