Can I use organic kitchen waste to make a compost?

Question

We produce a lot of food leftovers in our daily waste.
I was wondering if it could be used to make compost.
I'm looking for an easy way, I have a small backyard and thinking of planting some flower beds. Would that be useful.
I'm totally a newbie in that area, and just looking for a useful way to recycle my leftovers instead of tossing it in the garbage.

Answer 1

Making a compost pile work is a balancing act between adding 'brown' leaves with 'green' kitchen waste and garden trimmings to generate a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 30:1

Since you can never know the actual contents smell and temperature is the best gauge of your composts activity level.
If it smells fresh like turned soil it is working properly.
If you get it to wet it will begin to decompose anaerobically and produce hydrogen sulfide, the rotten egg smell. The best thing is to turn it and get air in. It should be moist all through the pile but never sodden.
If the pile has an ammonia odor, you have too much 'green' nitrogen containing material (grass clippings, food scraps, green plant material) and not enough 'brown' (dry leaves, paper, small woody prunings, pine needles, dried out plants, saw dust). Add more 'brown' material or a shovel of soil and turn it.

If it sits doing nothing, no heat and no smell it has to much 'brown' carbon containing material &/or is to dry. It needs more 'green' kitchen scraps or grass clippings, weeds, coffee grounds, seedmeal, soft green prunings, seaweed, or animal manure (sheep, poultry, horse, rabbit & cow). Turn the pile dampening any dry areas til just moist and work in the fresh 'green' nitrogen rich material.

'Brown' ingredients includes dead leaves, straw, hay, wood shavings or chips, egg cartons, newspaper, brown paper, or some soil.
http://www.compostguide.com/ C:N ratios

Ideally one uses a thermometer with readings from 0 degrees to 200 degrees F and is long enough to read well into the pile to determine when to turn the pile. If you have layered the carbon to nitrogen to the ideal 30:1 the pile will shortly begin to heat up. There will be a steady rise in temperature for a day or two. Normally the pile will continue to rise until it reaches 120 to 149 degrees F, at which point it may stop rising. Keep on monitoring the temperature. If it stays up, fine. If it drops, turn again. Once it no longer rises in temp after being turned it is complete. Note this is all predicated on being able to balance the carbon or 'browns. to the nitrogen or 'greens'. Also the particle sizes being added matter. If possible all material should be run through a chipper to mix and reduce the size. This makes turning much easier, too.
The truth is a long term compost produces good humic acids just like a fast pile.

Composting Meat & Dairy
Meat and dairy products are high in fat therefore they are 'browns'. They can cause an unpleasant odor if added to a passive pile or poorly-managed active compost pile. For a hot, well-turned compost pile, meat and dairy wastes are not a problem. However, it is better to run the wastes through a blender or food processor to reduce their size and speed their decomposition.
Fat, oil, & grease, known as FOG, have a high C/N ratio (90:1). They must be balanced with suitable amounts of nitrogen.

What should never be added are;
Feces either from your pet or human - They carry diseases and parasites, as well as cause an unpleasant odor
Diseased garden plants - They can infect the compost pile and influence the finished product.
Invasive weeds - Spores and seeds of invasive weeds (buttercups, morning glory, quack grass) can survive the decomposition process and spread to your desired plants when you use the finished compost.
Glossy, colored paper - The inks are toxic to the soil microorganisms.
Pesticide-treated plant material - These are harmful to the compost foodweb organisms, and pesticides may survive into the finished compost..
Eucalyptus leaves and bark - allelopathic effects impact nutrient cycling and prevents some seed germination
Treated lumber - Will not break down.
Poison Ivy - It is a potent source of urushiol even after a year and a half (to sensitive individuals).
Walnut shells - Juglone, a naturally occurring chemical released by all parts of black walnut trees, can have a toxic effect on many vegetables and landscape plants.
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Wood ashes - highly alkaline (high pH), and rich in potassium salts so it is good for sandy, acidic soils (low pH). However, the fine particle size of ash tends to plug the pores of clay soils leading to water penetration and drainage problems. These need to be thought about before adding.

Slugs and snails generally feed on living plant material but will attack fresh garbage and plant debris and will therefore appear in the compost heap. (Better there where you can find and kill them than in the garden. I dump them in soapy water til dead then compost them.)
During the early stages of the composting process, flies provide ideal airborne transportation for bacteria on their way to the pile. Flies spend their larval phase in compost as maggots, which do not survive thermophilic temperatures the bacteria and fungi digestion creates . Adult flies feed upon organic vegetation. If flies become a problem cover food scraps with a little soil from the garden.
In small-scale backyard compost piles, soil invertebrates aid the decomposition process. Together with bacteria, fungi, and other microbes, these organisms make up a complex food web or energy pyramid with primary, secondary, and tertiary level consumers. The base of the pyramid, or energy source, is made up of organic matter including the plant and animal residues in the pile.
The compost should have many kinds of worms, including earthworms, nematodes, red worms and potworms. They will invade the pile from the soil or through drain holes if you have an enclosed bin.
Besides worms you will see many other creatures like sow bugs or springtails. All the creatures that move in are there because they like dead stuff. Bugs, big and little, are what make the decomposition happen.

Answer 2

I compost. Food leftovers make a good addition to compost; however, you should avoid putting meat, dairy, or shortening in a compost. There are as many different ways to compost as there are people who compost! Please read about different types of composting before you get started; there will be a method out there that suits you.

Read about composting at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/deptmpl.asp?url=/content/dep/composting/basics.asp.

Answer 3

Use vegetable waste only -- no protein (meat, eggs, milk, etd. will stink and draw scavengers). Get a piece of wire fence about 10 feet long by 3 or 4 feet high. Attach the ends together by bending the wire from one end around the sections of the other end. Fashion some tent stakes or pegs from wood or metal scraps and stake the wire cylinder firmly to the ground. It should be located as far away as possible from your (and your neighbors') house. Put your vegetable waste here instead of in the trash or down the disposal. Water occasionally, and add a little garden fertilizer.

Answer 4

One bin is actually better. The more heterogeneous the compost the better it will be. I make about 4 cubic yards of compost a year (with large stalls and a tractor) and the more kitchen scraps in with the leaves and such, the happier the worms will be. When its done, its full of fat 6 inch long worms. -Brian The Brits seem to be angry about their "compose". Yikes!

Answer 5

u can use organic and non organic food left overs for your compost.. preatty much anything that rottens is compost... do u have a compost box if u dont vancouver city hall was giving them away with a little how to guide!! good luck

Answer 6

You can use the extras from chopped or peeled fruits and veggies and eggshells, but that's about it. The whole idea is that it's natural and organically based. So, just dumping in leftovers won't work. In addition to molding and stinking, it will attract a host of bugs and animals.

Answer 7

Yeah, it would be very useful.We do that,because next year we want to have a veggie garden.The only down-side to this is that it attracts flies and other critters.Lyme helps deal with that,but i wouldn't recommend having it close to your house.Hope that helps.

Answer 8

What you propose would make good compost.

Answer 9

of course