Composting at Home

Different methods to compost at home

Luckily, there are many different ways you can begin composting at home, no matter how much space or materials you have. From DIYing it to purchasing a ready-made kit at a local store, you can surely find something to fit your budget and lifestyle.

Hot Compost Pile

Hot composting is a method where microbial activity within the compost pile is optimized using heat, resulting in usable compost in a shorter period of time. This method is a little more involved than some people want, but it smells less than other methods and it can continue doing its thing all year long.

You'll first want to choose the optimal location for your hot compost pile. This type requires access to full sun, so no surrounding buildings or trees. Shade will allow the pile to cool and will slow down the decomposition process.

Next you'll need to select a container, if necessary. The size of your hot compost pile is important-- too small and the pile will not heat up sufficiently. A good size for the average composter is at least four feet wide by four feet high. If you are using a container, it is well to select a black or brown one that will absorb more heat. Make sure it has a lid to retain heat as well as holes for aeration. If you don’t use a container, you may want to cover the pile with a thick layer of straw or a tarp to help retain heat.

You may add materials over time, but it is best to have all your materials ready when you build the hot compost pile. You will need a large amount of organic matter with the correct carbon to nitrogen ratio. Your hot compost pile should have twenty-five parts carbon-rich (brown) materials such as straw, shredded paper, small twigs, and dry shredded fall leaves, and one parts nitrogen-rich (green) materials such as coffee grinds, tea leaves, fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings, and weeds that have not gone to seed. Remember to chop up and mix the materials you put in to aid in the decomposition process.

Once your pile is established, you can add natural compost activators to ensure your pile heats us quickly. These might include farm animal manures, a handful of existing soil or compost, and bloodmeal.

Mix all the ingredients together, water it so the ingredients are evenly moist and let it sit. You do not need to layer it. Let the pile settle for three to four days before turning.

A few things to watch are the temperature, moisture levels, and mixture.

• The optimal temperature for microbial activity is 130 to 140 degrees. You can measure this with a soil/compost thermometer, or by simply sticking your hand into the pile. You'll want to monitor the temperature daily. If it's uncomfortably hot, it's at the right temperature. Once the pile starts to cool down below 130 degrees, it's time to turn the pile. Turning the pile aerates it, kickstarting microbial activity again.
  
• Moisture is also essential. The contents of your compost pile should feel like a sponge that has been wrung out well. Too dry, and microbial activity will be diminished. Too wet, and the microbes that thrive in anaerobic conditions will take over, this often results in bad odors in the pile and an almost complete halt of decomposition. If you find that your pile is too dry, give it a watering with the hose. If it's too wet, turn it, adding shredded paper, to help soak up excess moisture. If it is going to rain, cover the pile with a tarp.
• Turning your pile three times a week is usually ideal if just starting the process. Do not turn every day. As your compost matures, turning should be limited to once a week. When you add new items, turn your pile, so the new items reach the center. The process will slow down in the winter, but you should still turn the pile.

After about one to three months of following this routine, you should have dark brown compost. It’s important to let the pile rest an additional two weeks before using it.

Cold Compost Pile

Cold composting is the easiest way to compost at home, because at its name suggests, it does not require heat to do its job. It requires little work to get it started and you don’t need to keep checking the temperature of the pile. You will need a decent amount of space, but with cold composting you don’t need to worry about the carbon and nitrogen ratios. However, it takes much longer to get usable compost, especially depending on your local climate, and its more prone to water logging when in a container.

To get started, pick a shady location for your compost pile or bin. This type does not need to be near the sun, and can be done on a porch, under a tree, or even in the kitchen.

Once you've selected your location, choose a container (or not). If you use a container, you'll want to make sure plenty of air can enter the container to promote microbial activity. There are many examples online, from turn style indoor/outdoor containers, wood pallets, Rubbermaid bins, trash cans, and more. Select one that suits your needs. If you are not using a container, start with bare ground.

Now that you are prepared, you can begin by layering your brown materials at the bottom (shredded leaves, branches, twigs, newspaper, or torn up cardboard). Then layer about four to six inches of green materials on top (grass clippings, kitchen scraps, etc.). Aim for 2 parts brown and 1 part green so your compost pile doesn’t get too wet and air can circulate well. Keep layering, alternating between browns and greens. Always end so you have brown material on top. Lastly, dampen your pile with enough water to make it feel like a damp sponge, but not so much that it is soaking wet. 

Every week or so, turn the compost before adding new green layers, to ensure air gets to the inner most layers. Keep adding layers until your compost bin or pile is full. You'll want to continue turning it every so often to aerate and check on the progress. When it's ready, your compost pile should start to look smaller than when you started. The compost should look dark brown, smell good, and feel moist. There should not be any recognizable pieces of the ingredients added. At this point, you should be able to use your compost in your garden.

Worm Compost Bin

Worm composting, also known as vermicomposting, is the use of surface-swelling red worms or red wigglers to recycle food scraps and other organic material into an excellent soil amendment and coveted fertilizer called worm castings, or black gold.

Worm composting is a good option if space is limited, or you do not have a garden to use traditional compost in. Often, people keep their worm composters in their basements, under kitchen sinks, out on the porch, or anywhere that is convenient. This type of composting does not smell unless there is too much material added in the bin for the worms to break down quickly.

For a worm bin outside, many people have been successful using a simple wood box with gaps between the planks (like a pallet). This is lined with a heavy-duty plastic, such as greenhouse plastic, which is punctured with holes for drainage and airflow.

For a worm bin inside, you can use plastic bins with a lid, several five-gallon buckets, or pretty much anything you can think of to contain the worms. A single container requires you to dig out and separate your worms, whereas multiple does not. Otherwise, most of the information remains the same. With any worm bin design, the goal is to have good ventilation and drainage, as well as a dark, moist environment.

When using multiple containers, you'll want to stack them gradually and change them out over time to keep the process going. Drill holes in the bottom of all but one container, and put the in-tact container on the bottom of the stack. Add a screen or aerated lid to prevent escape.



The bottom container collects the resulting liquid (compost tea) while the top container contains the scraps, worms, and eventual compost. Once your top container is fully converted to compost, all you need to do is place another container, with holes drilled into the bottom, on top of the current one. Fill the new container with appetizing scraps for the worms, and within a week or so your worms will have moved themselves from the compost to the new bin.

Bedding can be leaves, straw, shredded paper, shredded cardboard, or egg cartons

You will combine the bedding material with some soil (this will go in the taller bin), add water, you want the moisture level to be the same as a wet sponge–not too wet, not too dry. After preparing the bins, add the worms, let them get used to the bins for a day before feeding them. Then, close the lids of the bins.

Feed the worms once a week, you can use food scraps like vegetable and fruit peelings, used coffee grounds in small quantities, crushed eggshells, pumpkin, squash, and green leafy vegetables. Include some shredded paper, cover with moist soil, and put the lid back on. Remember to keep the worm bin moist, so the worms can move freely.

Over winter worms will need to be insulated with blankets, bales of straw, Styrofoam, or bubble wrap. moved to a sheltered area and continue to add scrapes of food. Remember to leave space in between the coverings to allow ventilation into the air holes of the bin. The drainage hole must not be covered. Move them to a garage or shed so the worms do not freeze.

If you move the bin to inside and it starts to smell, its likely receiving too much material for the worms to breakdown quickly, cut back on the amount of food for a short time, or add more bedding.

Over summer, do not place the worm composting bins in the sun or they will get to warm.

As time passes, you will notice less bedding and more compost in your bin. After three to five months, when your bin is filled with compost, and very little bedding, it is time to remove the compost from the bin. After several months the worms need to be separated from their castings, it can create an unhealthy environment for them.

To prepare for harvesting, do not add any new food to the bins for two weeks. There are two ways for harvesting.

Push all of the worm bin contents to one half of the bin, removing any large pieces of undecomposed food or newspaper. Put fresh bedding and food scraps in empty side of bin. Continue burying food scraps only in freshly bedded half.

Over the next 2-3 weeks, the worms will move over to the new side (where the food is), conveniently leaving their compost behind in one section. When this has happened, remove the compost and replace it with fresh bedding. To facilitate worm migration, cover only the new side of the bin, causing the old side to dry out and encouraging the worms to leave the old side.

Hands on method –

Dump the entire contents of the worm bin on to a sheet of plastic or paper. Make several individual cone-shaped piles. Each pile will contain worms, compost and undecomposed food and bedding. As the piles are exposed to light, the worms will migrate towards the bottom of the pile. Remove the top lay er of compost from the pile, separating out pieces of undecomposed food and newspaper. After removing the top layer, let pile sit under light for 2-3 minutes as the worms migrate down. Then remove the next layer of compost. Repeat this process until all of the worms are left at the bottom of the pile. Collect the worms and put them back in their bin with fresh bedding.

Regardless of which method you choose the compost you harvest will most likely contain a worm or two, along with old food scraps and bedding. If you are using the compost outdoors, there is no need to worry, the worms will find a happy home and the food scraps and bedding will eventually decompose. If you are using the compost indoors, you may want to remove old bedding and food scraps for aesthetic purposes and ensure that there are no worms in the compost. Though the worms will not harm your plants, the worms may not like living in a small pot.

For both methods, you can continue to compost your food scraps after harvesting. Just add fresh bedding and food scraps. If you don’t want to continue, add the worms to a garden.

You can use the worm compost right away or store for the gardening season.

Worms can live for about one year in your worm bin, worms may die but their eggs remain viable up to one year. Over winter the baby worms may stay in the cocoon until the temperature starts to warm up again.

The advantages of worm composting are it is fast, much less order than regular composting, it can be done inside or outside, it produces better quality finished compost, can do in small batched, can be done in cold water if kept inside, and helps reduce trash. The disadvantages are you can attract fruit flies, but if you bury the food waste, that will help, strong odors from the bin, you are probably adding too much food, infestations, if you notice other insects or eggs, take the bin outside and harvest your castings. Also, you need to feed in small batches, and monitor the bin to ensure the worms don’t have too much or too little to eat.

How to use your compost

Compost can be mixed with potting soil or garden soil as a soil amendment. Compost can be used as a top dressing for your indoor and outdoor plants. You can also make a compost tea by steeping a small amount of compost in water for 24–48 hours. Then, strain the mixture and spray it onto the plants to enhance the growth of your garden. 

Final thoughts

No matter which method you choose, composting at home is easy and eco-friendly.

References:

Can Compost Worms Survive Winter? - Grower Today

How To Start Your Own Worm Composting Bin | Homesteading

Composting Leaves: How to Achieve Fast Leaf Decay - Epic Gardening

Cold Composting: Step-by-Step Guide (treehugger.com)

Guide to hot composting: how to get the best garden compost in just four weeks | Gardeningetc

Hot Composting Vs. Cold Composting (What's The Difference) - (composthq.com)

Is Worm Composting Worth It (Pros and Cons Explained) – thegrowingleaf

(1) composting - Bing images