Composting 101: What to Toss and What not to Waste
Compostable Materials and Forbidden Items for Your Heap: A Guide on What to Include and Exclude
Let's get our gardening gloves on and dive into the world of composting! Ya know, that magical process that turns your kitchen scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich soil for your plants. But before you start tossing everything into your bin, here's what you need to know to do it right and avoid composting problems down the line.
Green Thumbs, Brown Thumbs: The Basics
When it comes to composting, we've got two main types of organic materials to play with: green and brown. Green materials are nitrogen-rich, while brown materials are carbon-rich. Here's a quick rundown of each:
Green materials:- Grass clippings- Fruit and veggie scraps- Coffee grounds (with filter)- Tea bags (no staples)- Eggshells (rinse first)- Bread, rice, oatmeal, and other grains
Brown materials:- Dried leaves and twigs- Straw- Untreated sawdust and wood chips- Newspaper- Paperboard- Cardboard- Many types of non-glossy paper (e.g., paper napkins, plates, notebook paper, paper bags, baking cups, and paper towels)
Avoid the Forbidden Fruits (and Veggies)
While we're all for recycling and reducing landfill waste, there are some things we'd rather not see in our compost bins. Here's a list of items that could create composting problems or attract unwanted visitors:
- Meat, fat, and dairy: Keep these kitchen scraps out of your compost pile. They'll attract wildlife and create a stinky mess that no one wants to deal with.
- Treated wood: Chemically treated sawdust, wood chips, and particleboard should be avoided, as they introduce harmful substances into your compost.
- Compostable food service materials: While these materials claim to be compostable, they'll likely take too long to break down in a home compost pile.
- Shiny or coated papers: Paper products with a waxy coating or that are glossy, along with papers with metallic embossing or ink, don't break down well in compost.
- Weeds: Use your judgment when adding weeds to your compost. Unless you're hot composting, weed seeds may not be destroyed by the temperatures in the compost, allowing them to spread throughout your garden.
- Diseased plants: Dispose of diseased plants with regular garbage to prevent the spread of diseases through compost.
- Black walnut waste: Black walnut trees create toxic substances that can harm plants. Avoid composting nuts, leaves, or twigs from black walnut trees.
- Ash: Wood, charcoal, and coal ash can take too long to break down and are highly alkaline or contain toxic substances for plants.
If you're looking to compost more kitchen scraps, consider using alternative methods such as electric composting or bokashi composting, which use heat or fermentation to break down the materials. Consider checking out the Reencle Home Composter available in our platform Shop, or a bokashi composting kit on Amazon.
hydroponics
For those thinking about getting their green thumbs dirty with hydroponics, it's important to note that while compost can serve as a valuable nutrient source, many of the forbidden fruits and veggies mentioned above should still be avoided in hydroponic systems. Overfeeding your plants with nitrogen-rich kitchen scraps can lead to unwanted algae growth and unbalanced pH levels.
Gardening Tips and More
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Mary Ellen Ellis
With over 20 years of gardening experience under her belt (not to mention degrees in Chemistry and Biology), Mary Ellen Ellis is our go-to expert for all things flowers, native plants, and herbs.
In the realm of environmental science, it's essential to know that not all kitchen scraps are suitable for composting. While coffee grounds, fruit and veggie scraps, eggshells, and grains are beneficial green materials, items like meat, fat, dairy, and treated wood should be excluded to prevent composting problems or attracting unwanted visitors. Furthermore, one might consider adopting hydroponics as a gardening style, but it's crucial to note that restricting the use of nitrogen-rich forbidden fruits and vegetables can help maintain a balanced pH level and prevent algae growth in the system.
