How to Put Moldy Food in Compost

Any food, even moldy items, can be composted in a period of months.

Using a composter at your home can convert unusable kitchen material and yard debris into vital, nutrient-rich compost. While most often you want to add food scraps when they are freshest and full of nutrient value, there are times when the food you intended for compost has become moldy. While you don't want to compost with only moldy foods, you can put moldy food into your composter and still create the usable compost product you're looking for.

Things You'll Need

• Food scraps
• Two large bowls
• Black and white newspaper
• Shovel or pitchfork

Instructions

1. Collect together any moldy and fresh food scraps you have in your home as well as any yard material such as pruned plant material, dry grass clippings or raked leaves. Group the food and green plant material together as "wet" items in one bowl and set the dried plant material as "dry" items in another bowl.

2. Shred black and white newspaper into 1-inch strips to add to your dry material if you don't have equal parts wet and dry materials to create an even balance of the two materials. Don't worry if you have more dry materials than wet.

3. Dig your compost pile to turn the material that is already present to mix it well. Build up the existing material in a mound. Dig a hole into the center of the mound large enough to hold your "wet" material.

4. Pour the entirety of the "wet" material including the moldy food into the hole. Cover over the "wet" material with the existing material from the mound. Spread your "dry" items over the mound. Be sure the "wet" material is covered completely to trap smells from the moldy food. Sprinkle a half gallon of water over the compost pile to wet the dry material and maintain moisture in the pile.

5. Leave the compost alone for a week. Dig the material each week to mix the moldy food with the compost material more thoroughly as it breaks down and let air into the pile to keep odors down. Add more water each week to keep the pile active.

Tips & Warnings

• Add new material to the pile as often as necessary, always working in equal amounts of "wet" and "dry."

• Avoid adding moldy foods to your composter as the only "wet" material you have, or odors may overtake your composter and the nutrient value of your finished product may be poor.

• Don't add animal materials -- such as fats, oils, meats or bone -- to your composter.

References

• "Organic Gardener's Composting"; Steve Solomon; 2006
• "Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Gardening"; Carroll C. Calkins; 1993

Resources

• Composting Instructions: How to Compost at Home