COMPOST MAKING PROCESS
WHAT IS COMPOST?
Compost is what happens when organic materials—food scraps, coffee grounds, plant waste, and other organic yard waste—are decomposed through natural decomposition and chemical processes. Once the organic materials are collected, they’re stored in the best indoor or outdoor composter for a given space. Here, with proper heat and aeration, the organic matter is transformed into a soil amendment.
Why do people create compost and compost tea? Well, for one, it boosts the nutrient content of soil by encouraging the production of healthy bacteria, which break down the organic material to create nutrient rich humus. It also provides an eco-friendly alternative to fertilizer, suppresses pests and diseases, and improves soil texture.
Why do people create compost and compost tea? Well, for one, it boosts the nutrient content of soil by encouraging the production of healthy bacteria, which break down the organic material to create nutrient rich humus. It also provides an eco-friendly alternative to fertilizer, suppresses pests and diseases, and improves soil texture.
HOW DOES ONE START A COMPOST PILE?
To ensure a well-balanced compost that supports plant growth, and for aerobic bacteria to begin breaking down materials into usable compost, a compost pile should contain the following key components. You should target using 50% green and 50% brown material by volume when you construct your pile. And with those four ingredients, properly mixed, you will stimulate the aerobic bacteria (the kind that gets hot) to begin making compost!
1. Green Materials (Nitrogen-rich) – 30-50%
These materials provide nitrogen, which is essential for microbial activity and decomposition.
2. Brown Materials (Carbon-rich) – 50-70%
These materials provide carbon, which serves as energy for decomposers and helps maintain structure in the compost.
3. Moisture (Water) – 40-60%
Water is necessary for microbial activity. The compost should feel like a wrung-out sponge. If too dry, decomposition slows; if too wet, it may become anaerobic.
4. Air (Oxygen) – Regular Aeration
Oxygen is essential for aerobic decomposition. Turning the compost pile every 1-2 weeks helps prevent odor and speeds up breakdown.
5. Microorganisms & Soil
Adding garden soil or finished compost introduces beneficial microbes that aid decomposition.
Optional Additives
What to Avoid in Compost
A good compost mix balances greens and browns, ensuring proper aeration, moisture, and microbial activity for nutrient-rich soil.
1. Green Materials (Nitrogen-rich) – 30-50%
These materials provide nitrogen, which is essential for microbial activity and decomposition.
- Vegetable and fruit scraps
- Fresh grass clippings
- Coffee grounds and tea leaves
- Manure (from herbivores like cows, chickens, rabbits)
- Garden trimmings (non-woody plants)
2. Brown Materials (Carbon-rich) – 50-70%
These materials provide carbon, which serves as energy for decomposers and helps maintain structure in the compost.
- Dry leaves
- Straw or hay
- Sawdust (untreated wood)
- Cardboard (shredded)
- Paper (non-glossy)
- Wood chips (small amounts)
3. Moisture (Water) – 40-60%
Water is necessary for microbial activity. The compost should feel like a wrung-out sponge. If too dry, decomposition slows; if too wet, it may become anaerobic.
4. Air (Oxygen) – Regular Aeration
Oxygen is essential for aerobic decomposition. Turning the compost pile every 1-2 weeks helps prevent odor and speeds up breakdown.
5. Microorganisms & Soil
Adding garden soil or finished compost introduces beneficial microbes that aid decomposition.
Optional Additives
- Eggshells (calcium source)
- Wood ash (small amounts for potassium)
- Seaweed or kelp meal (trace minerals)
What to Avoid in Compost
- Meat, dairy, and oily foods (attract pests and slow decomposition)
- Diseased plants (may spread pathogens)
- Weeds with mature seeds (can regrow in compost)
- Chemically treated wood or plants (may contain toxins)
A good compost mix balances greens and browns, ensuring proper aeration, moisture, and microbial activity for nutrient-rich soil.
Steps to build a Compost Pile:
If you would like to see me build a pile in real time with results? Then have a look at our excellent video guide to composting below! It really is a good ‘how-to’ guide, garnering over 15k views in it’s first month on YouTube from a small channel. It shows the complete process.
- To build a compost pile, you should assemble your materials over time. Particularly, brown materials, as they can be stored long term very easily.
- Create a layer of brown material, roughly 1-2 inches thick (5 cm)
- Add a layer of green material on top.
- Repeat until your pile has 2-4 layers of each, or a pile that is 6-8″ tall.
- Add some water to moisten the brown material.
- Mix the layers up using a pitchfork, shovel, or potato fork.
- Repeat steps 2-6 until you have created a pile that is approximately 3′ diameter, and 3′ tall (1m x 1m).
- Turn your compost. Keep turning it every few days to a week until it has decomposed. You will know it is ready when it is black, light.
If you would like to see me build a pile in real time with results? Then have a look at our excellent video guide to composting below! It really is a good ‘how-to’ guide, garnering over 15k views in it’s first month on YouTube from a small channel. It shows the complete process.
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Useful Links:
How to make Compost - The Simplest Easy Method To Compost Piles!
How to start composting: https://www.permaculturenews.org/2023/05/29/how-to-start-composting/
Composting 102 – Building a Basic Compost Pile Written by Joe Foster in Compost,DIY,Gardening Tips
https://growitbuildit.com/how-to-make-a-compost-pile/
Wiki How to make a Compost Pile with graphics: https://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Compost-Pile
How to make Compost - The Simplest Easy Method To Compost Piles!
How to start composting: https://www.permaculturenews.org/2023/05/29/how-to-start-composting/
Composting 102 – Building a Basic Compost Pile Written by Joe Foster in Compost,DIY,Gardening Tips
https://growitbuildit.com/how-to-make-a-compost-pile/
Wiki How to make a Compost Pile with graphics: https://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Compost-Pile