Believe it or not, fall is a great time to start a compost pile.
To begin the process, an at-home gardener or environmentally conscious individual really only needs two elements – browns and greens. The browns can be found covering lawns and clogging storm drains in the form of leaves, while the greens are all those vegetable plants that have produced all they can for the year and now need to be pulled from the ground to get the area ready for next year. It’s really that simple, said Lauren Judd, programs coordinator and educator for the Cornucopia Project.
Most people will take all those leaves and spent plantings and toss them over the fence (if the property allows) or bring them to the local recycling center, but putting them into a designated area can create a great nutrient-rich source for next year’s plantings.
The browns provide the carbon side of the equation, while the greens add the nitrogen, which is really all you need to get the process started for an at-home compost. That and all the little insects that will make it their new home.
“This is definitely a good time because of all the leaves,” Judd said. “So if you want to go for it, you can start today and just make a pile.”
There are many different ideas for how to initially build a compost pile, but Judd said the key to making compost is to simply just to start. The rule of thumb, Judd said, is two parts brown and one part green. While whole leaves will work just fine, Judd said having them mulched up is a better way to have them break down quicker.
Judd has worked with students at local schools to create compost piles for their gardens and it’s been great to see their investment and how they care for it, Judd said.
Cornucopia Farm Manager Leigh Mae MacLellan said she has taken a layered approach in the past using wood shavings she’s purchased from a local garden supply center along with the food scraps from her kitchen.
Once the pile is formed, there isn’t a lot of maintenance to it. You want to turn it every so often, but the materials are the ones that do all the work. Just remember that the denser the material, the longer it takes to decompose.
“The more often you flip it, the quicker it will break down,” MacLellan said
Even with cold temperatures approaching, that’s not a reason to put off starting a compost pile. Heat is a big key to the equation, but it’s not necessarily needed from the environment. As the materials begin to break down and thanks to bugs and insects, the pile will create its own heat source and moving it around from time to time brings in the necessary airflow to turn what is considered waste into “black gold.”
If the only spot for a pile is a sunny spot that’s okay because even if the outside material dries out, the inside will maintain moisture. If you stir it around and it seems dry all around, adding a bit of water will be a benefit. And all the precipitation and melting from the impending snow will add to the water content of the pile.
“It needs to be wet,” Judd said. “As wet as a squeezed-out sponge.”
The time it takes to turn those leaves, yard clippings, pulled up plants and weeds and food scraps into something that can be spread around in the garden varies, and even if it seems like the pile isn’t doing much of anything, Judd said it eventually will.
“Just make a pile and see what happens. It’s a fun science experiment, so just naturally allow for your curiosity to explore,” Judd said. “It’s a learning process, but in the end, you’ll get dirt.”
The key is to get the right mix, which will help avoid flies and smells.
“If you’re putting enough brown, you’re not going to end up with a stinky pile,” Judd said.
When the pile is first being created, it’s fine to just keep adding to it on a daily or weekly basis, depending on how long you want food scraps to be sitting around the kitchen. But eventually, MacLellan said, you’re going to want to start a second area because as those materials begin to break down and start to resemble soil, it’s about getting the existing pile to finish off the process.
“It becomes its own entity and so you start a new pile,” MacLellan said.
In terms of kitchen materials to add, there are a few things to avoid, like dairy, meats, bones and fats. They attract animals, which is not something you want to bring to your property if possible.
Judd said that composting is not only great for your gardens but also helps lower what ends up in local landfills.
“And you don’t have to be a gardener to be a composter,” Judd said.
It’s a great project to have with the kids, as they can be in charge of dumping the food scraps, while also examining what kind of insects can be found. It’s also fun to see what grows out of the compost pile, like a big pumpkin if you happen to throw the guts from a carving in there.
Judd said you can just make a pile in your yard or garden, but for those who want less of an eyesore or mess can invest in a standing or tumbling barrel.
The benefits from compost is huge because it allows for all those much-needed nutrients to be returned to the soil.
“You’ve paid for what you have to make the compost, you might as well reinvest,” Judd said. “If you keep giving back to the soil, it will keep giving back to you.”
It’s a small-time investment for what can not only be a big money saver but your way of doing your part for the natural world.
“It’s better to be a lazy composter than not compost at all,” Judd said.