175 Things You Didn't Know You Could Compost - and Tips to Help You Get Started
If you are just beginning to homestead, you probably already know all about composting. It’s a great way to reduce your impact on the environment and to use up your resources to the fullest.
Even if you don’t have a garden, composting is a great way to get rid of “trash” and to help rejuvenate the soil.
In this article, I’ll tell you about all of the reasons why you should compost - and fill you in on a whopping 175 things you probably didn’t know you could compost.
Here’s what you need to know.
**J&R Pierce Family Farm is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to allow sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. I often link to Amazon when recommending certain products, and if you choose to purchase, I may earn a small percentage of the sale. It costs you nothing extra, and all recommended products are ones that I personally vouch for. **
What Are 10 Things You Can Compost?
Composting is a great way to reduce your waste and provide nutrients for your plants. Here are 10 things you can compost:
Fruit and vegetable scraps
Coffee grounds and filters
Egg shells
Shredded newspaper and paper towels
Yard waste such as leaves and grass clippings
Animal manure
Seaweed
Wood ash
Tea bags
Check out this video for even more:
Reasons to Compost
If you’re not sold on composting yet, here are some of the best reasons as to why you should get started.
It reduces waste: Did you know that yard and food waste make up 30% of the country’s waste? If you’re able to compost these biodegradable ingredients, you can easily keep these out of the landfill and waterways.
You can use fewer pesticides: Use compost on your lawn and garden, and you’ll have fewer pests. Why? Composts contain beneficial soil microbes that help support the soil instead of depleting it. A strong soil is more resistant to disease.
Compost improves the soil. As a corollary to the point above, compost helps to build up your soil in a natural way. It encourages a balanced, gradual release of nutrients to fertilize and improve your soil.
It can improve moisture retention. If you have heavy, clay soil or porous, sandy soil, compost can improve your structure over time. It will reduce the problems you have with too much mud in the spring and make it easier for you to grow a healthy garden.
It improves the nutrient content of your food. Many people swear by purchasing organic food - while you can read here all about the reasons why organic is not necessarily always the best way to go, know that composting will help improve the nutrition of your food in a very natural way.
It saves money. Instead of spending money on trash disposal fees and fertilizers, you can double up and save money by letting it break down on its own.
How to Compost
Composting isn’t difficult to do, but many people avoid it because they fear that it is a process that is far too complicated for the average homeowner. Not the case! You can compost in a large backyard bin or even a small vermicomposting bin in your basement.
You’ll need to start with a compost bin. There are plenty of options, including:
A vermicomposting bin, like this which will allow you to use Red Wiggler worms to do your composting for you indoors.
A compost tumbler like thisif you think you are going to have trouble remembering to turn your bin - these are designed for outdoor use.
A traditional compost bin like this if you have plenty of space and just want the most basic system to get started.
You don’t have to run out and buy a bin, either! You can easily make your own out of old wood, pallets, or other materials you have lying around. You can even build your pile up on the ground and cover it with a tarp, or dig a trench and compost in the hole, too.
You should pick a good location for whichever system you choose. If you compost indoors, put your bin in a cool, dry location. If you’re composting outside, you’ll want a sunny spot that you can get to year-round.
Greens and Browns
Once you start composting, you will hear people talking about “green” and “brown” ingredients.
Green ingredients are things like vegetable scraps, garden waste, tea leaves, coffee filters, etc. These are rich in nitrogen.
Brown ingredients include things like dried leaves, straw, sawdust, woodchips, shredded paper, and twigs. These are high in carbon.
How to Start Composting
Once you have a few green and brown ingredients ready to be composted, you can get started. You will want to begin with a generous layer of brown ingredients on the bottom. Then, place a layer of green ingredients. You can alternate these layers, but you should use about three times as many brown ingredients as greens.
Remember, the smaller the material is, the more quickly it will break down. Large woody debris will take a long time to break down, while grass will decompose quickly.
It may behoove you to add a shovelful of soil when you are getting started, too. This will add some soil organisms to the pile and accelerate its decomposition.
You should keep your pile at a moisture content of 50%. You may need to put a lid on your compost to protect it from heavy rains or snowfall. You will also want to stir your pile every three to five days - or at least every week. This will keep the airflow and microbes moving so you have nutritious compost that can be used more quickly.
175 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Compost
100% cotton feminine products
100% cotton products like cotton balls, or paper Q-tips
Acorn shells
Alfalfa hay or pellets (usually fed to rabbits, gerbils, etc.) (B)
Algae
Animal carcasses (this will take a very long time and may attract pests, so be careful with this one)
Apple cores
Aquarium plants
Ashes from untreated wood
Avocado pits
Bagasse
Bamboo
Bamboo skewers
Banana Peels
Bee droppings
Beeswax
Bird cage droppings
Blood Meal
Bone Meal
Bread
Burlap bags
Business cards
Cardboard boxes
Cardboard egg cartons (you might want to cut them up so they break down more quickly)
Cattails
Cellophane bags (make sure it's not plastic)
Cereal
Chewing gum
Chicken bedding
Chopsticks
Christmas trees (chip them first)
Cigar stubs
Citrus rinds
Clover
Coconut milk
Coffee filters
Coffee grounds (G)
Cooked pasta
Corn cobs
Corn husks
Cotton fabric scraps
Cow manure
Crab shells
Crackers
Crepe paper streamers
Crumbs
Dead houseplants (including the soil)
Dead leaves
Dry dog or cat food
Dryer lint
Dust bunnies
Egg shells
Elmer’s Glue
Entire vacuum cleaner bags
Envelopes
Eraser rubbings
Evergreen garlands
Fallen bird's nests
Feathers
Fish meal
Fish pellets
Flat soda
Floor sweepings
Flowers from your floral arrangements
Freezer burned fruits and vegetables
Fruit scraps
Fur from the dog or cat brush (B)
Garden snail shells
Gauze
Goat manure
Granite dust
Grass Clippings
Greensand
Ground cover
Hair
Hay bales
Hayweed
Hemp
Herbs and spices
Hoof and horn meal
Hops
Horse manure
Ivory soap scraps
Jell-O
Juice boxes
Kelp
Kentucky bluegrass
Latex balloons
Leather
Leaves from houseplants
Leftover fish bait
Limestone
Linen bed sheets
Lint
Lobster shells
Loose tea
Matches
Molasses
Moldy cheese (in moderation)
Moss
Mushrooms
Nail Clippings
Natural potpourri
Natural silk
Newspapers
Nori
Nut Shells
Oatmeal
Old candy
Old jelly, jam, or preserves
Old rope and twine
Old wine
Olive pits
Onion skins
Organic tobacco waste
Outdated seeds (make SURE they are outdated first!)
Paper documents (yes, you can get rid of those bills!)
Paper mache
Paper plates
Paper towel/toilet paper tubes
Paper Towels
Peat
Pencil shavings
Pickles
Pine cones
Pine needles
Pizza crusts
Popcorn kernels
Popsicle Sticks
Potash rock
Potato peels
Pretzels
Produce trimmings
Protein bars
Pumpkins
Rabbit, hamster, or gerbil droppings - do not use dog or cat feces
Raffia
Rawhide Dog Chews
Razor trimmings
Receipts
Reptile cage lining and bedding
Rice milk
Roadkill (be careful, as this will take a long time)
Sawdust
Seaweed
Sheep manure
Shrimp shells
Silkworm cocoons
Sod
Soy milk
Spanish moss
Stale beer
Stale catnip
Stale coffee beans
Starfish
Sunflower seeds or sesame seeds (you may want to chop them up first so they don't sprout)
Tea bags
Tempeh
Tissues
Tofu
Toothpicks
Tree bark
Twigs
Used brewery grain
Used masking tape
Veggie scraps
Vines (like grapevines)
Weeds - you may want to heat some of them first to destroy weed seeds
Wine Corks
Winery wastes
Winter rye
Wool
Yarn scraps
Is that enough inspiration for you to get started?
Make sure you are careful, though, about not trying to throw everything into your compost. Here are some things that should stay out of your compost bin and just go in the trash.
25 Things You Should Avoid Composting
Plastic
Glass
Aluminum Foil
Metal
Coated papers
Glossy papers
Diseased plants
Feces of carnivorous animals (chickens are okay, even though they’re omnivores)
Sweet baked goods
Meat
Dairy
Cooking oil
Used feminine hygiene products
Plants treated with herbicides
Black walnuts
Treated charcoal briquets
Sawdust from treated wood
Large branches (this won’t hurt anything, but will slow down composting)
Synthetic fertilizers
Milk products
Invasive plants
Poisonous plants
Dyed or synthetic fabrics
Metallic wrapping paper
Greasy foods
So there you have it! What do you think - are you ready to start composting? Let me know how it goes in the comments section below!
Want to learn more about farming? Be sure to check out these featured articles!
Subscribe to our email newsletter for regular tips and tricks on homesteading and farming – wherever you are. You can also follow us on Instagram (@jrpiercefamilyfarm) and Pinterest (J&R Pierce Family Farm) for frequent updates. Happy homesteading!