How to Load a Compost Bin

For fast and efficient hot composting, you need to know how to load your compost bin. According to the Washington State University (WSU) Master Gardening program, properly loading with a mixture of bulking agents, energy materials and balanced raw materials will move the decaying process along quickly. The correct balance of air, water and food in the compost bin will create a warm environment that digests organic matter quickly and kills many weeds, seeds and organisms that cause odors.

Things You'll Need

• Compost Bin
• Organic Matter
• Pitch fork or shovel

Instructions

How to Load a Compost Bin

1. Use sawdust, wood chips, hay, straw and corn stalks to create bulking material for your compost bin. These materials are dry and aerate the compost bin. They are low in moisture and nitrogen content, but with high porosity. WSU Master Gardeners recommend using twice as many bulking agents as energy materials when loading your compost bin.

2. Load grass clippings, vegetarian kitchen waste, coffee grounds and garden refuse to make energy materials for the compost bin. These materials are high in moisture and nitrogen but with low porosity. Microbes grow quickly by feeding on these ingredients. Without the addition of bulking agents, the pile will be wet and emit a pungent, foul odor.

3. Create compost quickly by reducing the size of your raw, organic material. Use a wood chipper or cut the bulking agents and energy material into smaller pieces before loading them into the compost bin. For optimal hot composting, pieces should be no larger than a half-inch in diameter.

4. Add new organic matter each week by making room in the center of the pile with a shovel or pitch fork. Pile the surrounding material on top, so the new material is in the center of the bin. Use a tarp to cover the pile so it does not get saturated when it rains.

5. Aerate your compost bin to help facilitate the process of decay. Feed the microorganisms that are working hard to create compost for you. Porous bulking material pulls oxygen into your compost bin. Add more oxygen by turning your pile so the material that was once on the bottom is now on the top.

6. Cure the compost by allowing it to sit inside or outside the bin for up to two months. Curing is crucial for soil that will be used to germinate seeds. Finished compost is brown and crumbles easily in your hand. The material shrinks to half the original size.

Tips & Warnings

• To reduce compost odor, keep kitchen waste in a container in the freezer rather than in a bucket under the sink.

• If energy materials are not buried properly, rodents and other animals may be attracted to your compost pile.

References

• Washington State University