Composting Do’s & Don'ts
DO mix a variety of other vegetable food scraps with grass clippings and leaves. Clippings tend to compact, which may inhibit the flow of air through the pile.
DO keep the pile damp, but never soggy.
DON’T add fish, meat, dairy products, bones, fatty foods or grease to your compost pile. These food scraps do not easily decompose and may attract animals.
DON’T use diseased plants or plants that are toxic to other plants. Also, avoid weeds, which produce abundant seeds, since they may not be killed during the composting process.
DON’T add pet feces or used kitty litter. Although they may eventually break down in compost, they also harbor bacteria, germs, viruses, and parasites.
Compost Pile Troubleshooting
| Symptom |
Possible Causes
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Possible Solutions
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Damp and warm only in middle of pile
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Pile too small, built too gradually, or cold weather
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Form pile at least 3 feet high and 3 feet wide. Cover with tarp. Put in covered bin. Or allow to compost “cold”.
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Pile not heating up at all
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Not enough nitrogen
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Mix in fresh grass clippings, manure, or food scraps.
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Matted, undercomposted leaves or grass clippings
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Compaction, poor aeration, or lack of moisture
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Avoid thick layers of leaves, grass, or paper. Break up layers with garden fork, then wet and re-mix the pile. Shred materials.
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Odor like rancid butter, vinegar, or rotten eggs
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Not enough oxygen, too wet or compacted
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Turn pile, fluffing materials to aerate them. Add coarse dry materials like leaves as needed to soak up excess moisture. If odor is intense, possibly cover with a layer of newspapers and/or coarse dry materials and allow pile to mellow before turning.
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Odor like ammonia
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Not enough carbon
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Add “brown” materials and aerate. If odor is intense, possibly cover and allow pile to mellow before turning (see preceding row).
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Attracting rats, raccoons, dogs, flies, or other pests
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Inappropriate materials (meat, oil, bones, etc.) or food too close to surface
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Dispose of meat and oil. Use a rodent-resistant bin. Bury kitchen scraps 8 to 12 inches deep in the pile.
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Attracting various insects, centipedes, slugs, etc.
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Composting
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If garden pests are identified in pile, use traps or barriers between pile and garden.
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Infested with fire ants
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Too dry, not hot enough, or food too close to surface
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Drench ant mounds with compost tea sweetened with feed-grade molasses. Broadcast low-toxicity fire ant bait for major infestations. Carefully rebuild pile to proper conditions, wetting thoroughly.
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