How to Store Home Compost
The best way to deal with kitchen scraps is to start a home compost pile. By saving and storing your kitchen scraps properly, you'll avoid fruit fly invasions and daily trips to the compost pile. Compost improves soil quality and is easy enough for any home gardener to try. You don't need a lot of room to store home compost--a 3- by 3-foot space is plenty. Any organic material can be added to the pile, and no special equipment is needed to store home compost once you've established your compost pile. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Large plastic container with tight-fitting lid or coffee can
- 1 block of charcoal
- Duct tape
- Shovel
- Organic kitchen scraps
- Organic lawn waste
- Zipper-top plastic food storage bag
Instructions
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Choose a suitable container in which to begin storing your daily food scraps. If you don't have a large plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, check with local restaurants to see whether they will save one for you. A large coffee can will work, but it will eventually rust. You will also need to empty a coffee can more often than a larger container.
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Remove the lid from your container and place it with the inner edge up on the counter. Tape the charcoal briquette to the inner side of the lid using one piece of duct tape. Be sure you don't tape over the edge of the lid. Leave the edges of the charcoal exposed, but feel free to add an extra piece of tape if it doesn't feel secure. The charcoal will absorb odors.
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Store daily food scraps in the container, making sure to keep the lid tightly fitted at all times. Empty your container into your home compost pile when it is full, usually once every couple of days.
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Save vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells and any uneaten food in your container. Do not save any meat or animal matter for your compost pile. These items will rot and attract rodents or other critters once the contents are outside.
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Add waste to your home compost pile in the ratio of three brown to one green. Brown compost items include wood chips, tree branches, leaves and straw. These items add carbon to your compost pile, which is an essential component for breaking down items into compost. Green items are nitrogen-rich things such as kitchen scraps and grass clippings.
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Add compost materials in layers and always make sure that new materials get mixed well with the old materials.
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Use the shovel to turn the entire pile once every month to aerate the materials and encourage the composting process. This will also help prevent any foul odors from building in your compost pile. A slight smell is to be expected, but compost with an improper ratio of green to brown materials will smell worse. If your pile has a foul smell, add more browns and turn the pile well.
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Test whether your compost is ready for use by placing a small amount in a plastic bag. Sniff the mixture before sealing and set aside in a cool, dark place for three days. Open the bag and smell again. If it smells the same, it's ready to use. If it smells worse, it needs more time to compost properly. Compost that is finished will have an earthy, pleasant smell.
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When your compost is ready for use, spread it as needed over your lawn or garden. You do not need any special methods to store home compost. Leave it in the pile until you need it.
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Tips & Warnings
If you don't have a lot of room to store the compost in your yard, look for local community gardens that might offer public compost piles where you can take your kitchen scraps.
