Office of Student Life
Green Buckeyes

A Guide to Composting

January 7, 2021

Are you interested in picking up a new activity that you can easily do from home? Are you an environmentally conscious student living off-campus? Composting can be a great way to repurpose old food scraps while getting fresh soil for houseplants! Starting a composting bin is so easy that it can be done by anyone with a basement/backyard and a free afternoon! Here is what you will need;

Materials:

  • 2 plastic bins (a top and bottom bin)
  • A tool to make 1/8th inch holes (a drill works best)
  • Mesh screen that won’t rust (window screening is perfect)
  • Waterproof glue
  • Worms (!): ~1 lb of red wigglers or earthworms
  • A small shovel: the bins will need to be mixed during feedings
  • Carbon rich source: this will form the base of the compost, see the end of this article for potential sources
  • Soil: 1lb of soil found in the yard or bought from a gardening store is good as long as it doesn’t contain harmful chemicals. This is to give the worms a place to live before they make enough of their own soil.

Making your bin:

  •   Make four 1/8th inch holes on the bottom, near the corners of the top bin

o   You can optionally create 1 inch holes in the top for air flow, or just leave the lid of your bin cracked slightly

  •   Glue mesh over every hole with waterproof glue
  •   A ~1lb of soil and your carbon source to the bin, fill it up ~1/3 of the way
  •   Add enough water to evenly dampen the mixture without forming puddles
  •   Add worms and wait a day before you begin feeding them

Feeding your worms:

  •   See below for a list of compostable vs. non-compostable items (some may surprise you!)
  •   wedge food scraps between layers of your carbon source on both sides; covering the scraps with soil will also discourage flies
  •   keep an eye out for items left untouched by your worms, they may need to be cut up more, or simply disposed of elsewhere

Bin maintenance:

  •   as liquid builds up in the bottom bin, use it as fertilizer or simply dilute it with water and pour down the drain
  •   when the larger bin is reaching full capacity, begin feeding one side of the bin to draw the worms to that side
  •   repeat for a couple of weeks, and when the bin is full, remove the soil from the other side of the bin.

o   This can be used as potting soil or lawn fertilizer!

 What can you put in a compost pile?

Carbon sources:

  •   Wood chips/shavings
  •   Wood ash
  •   Straw or haw
  •   Waste from lawn pruning
  •   Leaves
  •   Cardboard

Food sources:

  •   Fruit and vegetable scraps
  •   Grass clippings
  •   Coffee grounds (with filter)
  •   Seaweed
  •   Manure

What not to compost?

  •   Meat scraps and bones
  •   Weeds or diseased plants, this could cause unwanted spread of seeds and could add pesticides
  •   Unwashed Banana, peach and orange rinds as they may contain pesticides
  •   Sawdust and ash should be well-mixed and finely scattered, otherwise it will clump.

o   Ensure that ash is from clean sources and saw dust is free of machine oils before adding to the pile

 

Other Tips:

  •   Keep a large smell-proof container in your kitchen to store kitchen scraps in before bringing it to the yard
  •   Chop all ingredients (especially yard scraps) into the smaller sizes for the fastest composition rate
  •   Activators give the composting a jumpstart, this includes fresh grass clippings, and comfrey leaves. You can also purchase these from garden centers.

 

Sources:

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/how-create-and-maintain-indoor-worm-composting-bin

https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/composting/

https://modernfarmer.com/2017/02/how-to-compost/

https://www.gardensthatmatter.com/infographic-best-compost-method/