What to put in a compost pile


LIKE THIS POST? Then Pin It!

 What to put in a compost pile.

“What to put in a compost pile” is a questions I often get. Here is a list of things I put in my compost pile. Most people don’t realize how many different things you can put in a compost pile.

I collect enough that I usually take 1 large bowl out to the compost pile everyday just from the house. Here what to put in a compost pile:

 

Wood/Paper

paper plates

paper napkins

paper towels

paper tableclothes (like for birthday parties)

coffee filters

egg cartons (cardboard)

newspaper ( I mostly use this for laying down under mulch)

brown paper (like bags, instant oatmeal packages)

sawdust (pencil shavings too)

wood shavings from hamster

tissues

junk mail (remove  plastic)

straw wrappers

cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls can all be put in but take a long time to break down so you may need to tear them up or put them in a pile you won’t use for a year or two. 



Food

coffee grounds

tea bags

all fruit and vegetable peelings and cores

eggshells

popcorn

popcorn kernels

avocado pits

pickles

corncobs

all grains

rice

oatmeal

crackers

pasta

old cereal

nuts (not walnuts or walnut shells they are toxic to plants)

herbs and spices (fresh and dried)

 

 

Yard waste

all old flowers and stalks (including the grocery store kind your husband brings home for your anniversary. The gift that keeps on giving! 🙂

leaves

wood chips

bark

grass clippings

weeds that haven’t gone to seed yet. (usually I just pull and leave them to rot in the garden.)

 

Animal

bunny, chicken and cow manure

old animal food

 

“Weird” things to put in the compost pile

cotton balls

vacuum cleaner contents (watch for coins 🙂

Dryer lint (when I’m not using the clothesline)

Fireplace ashes (water down first! One time I put them in the compost pile “sure” they were cold and and hour later my compost pile was on fire. Not good!)

Dead potpourri and dead dried flowers

Pet and human hair

 

Things you don’t want to put in  a compost pile

Meat

Fats

heavy paper or cardbaord, you can put this in but it will take 1-2 years to break down unless you break it into small pieces first.

Feces from pets or human

Black walnut bark, leaves or nuts (toxic to plants)

 

Make Gardening Easy!

Gardening Secrets e-book

Now, you can enjoy all the benefits of fresh food for many months of the year, without all that digging and weeding!

Learn to grow your own super fresh produce, take some of the strain off of your grocery budget and enjoy quiet time in your garden!

Try Gardening Secrets today and get better results from your garden with less work! Learn more here.

 

 

 

photo by: nancybeetoo


LIKE THIS POST? Then Pin It!


1 comment to What to put in a compost pile

  • Susan

    Don’t worry about weeds that have gone to seed. Most will break down in the compost and any that don’t and germinate in the garden will give you free mulch. I actually scatter weed seeds all around my garden for living mulch and plants I can cut at ground level and then chop up and use as mulch.

Post a Comment! Share Your Cool Garden Ideas!

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>