A simple beginner's guide to composting

"Homemade compost is recycled goodness which powers up your plants."
By
Rachel Thompson
 on 
A simple beginner's guide to composting

Moving forward requires focus. Mashable's Social Good Series is dedicated to exploring pathways to a greater good, spotlighting issues that are essential to making the world a better place.


Home composting is a win-win activity. Not only is it a sustainable way of disposing of kitchen food scraps and garden waste, it also happens to make top-notch compost that your plants will love.

You do not need a massive garden to get into composting — even small gardens and balconies work!

If you're not sure quite where to begin, we've created a helpful beginner's guide to composting for getting started.

As Kerry Connolly, founder of Willow and Greene gardening school in Northern Ireland, told me: "homemade compost is recycled goodness which powers up your plants."

What time of year can I compost?

All year round! Composting is a year-round activity. According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), late summer to early winter is peak compost-making time.

You'll get a thriving compost pile in six months (at the very most) even in winter months.

How to pick a good place to compost

Picking the perfect spot for your composting site is really important. Ideally, it's best not to position your compost heap or container somewhere that's subject to a lot of changes in temperature and moisture. This is because the micro-organisms that turn the waste into compost prefer constant conditions.

Claire Ratinon, author of How to Grow Your Dinner Without Leaving the House, told me it's best to choose a site that's partially shaded "to prevent it drying out on sunny days or getting saturated in wet weather." Placing your heap or bin directly onto soil is also advisable, according to Ratinon.

"It might be tempting to place your heap or bin on paving slabs but since it’s essential that the contents are accessible to worms, insects, and soil-dwelling microbes who do the work of decomposing your kitchen scraps, you’ll get far better results placing it directly onto soil," Ratinon explained.

Mashable Image
Look at these beautiful compost scraps. Credit: Getty Images

What type of composting bin should you use?

Composting containers come in all shapes and sizes, from repurposed wooden palettes to compact plastic bins. Guy Barter from the RHS told me it's best to to aim for bins with one cubic metre capacity or more. "Smaller bins work less well than larger ones. Two bins one rotting, the other being filled is ideal," he added.

In need of some compost bin inspo? Here's a fancy indoor composter for small apartments. Want to make your own compost bin? Read this helpful guide. Struggling to decide? Same! Here's a useful guide on which type of compost bin is best.

Short on space?

If you don't have loads of room in your garden, that's not a problem. Simon Akeroyd, author of Perfect Compost, told me the simplest type of compost container is a small cardboard box. "Fill it up with all your fruit and veg kitchen waste, and when it's full, plunge the box and its contents into the soil and leave it to decompose," said Akeroyd. Leave it there until it's fully decomposed. When it's fully composted, you can dig it up and use it around your garden. Try to make sure the kitchen waste is sufficiently buried to deter any rodents!

If you have cardboard packing you need to get rid of, this could be a good solution for you. Make sure you remove any packaging stickers, plastic tape, or anything that's not biodegradable. Plus, you don't have to worry about the expense of buying a compost container, said Akeroyd. "Furthermore, your garden soil is enriched with carbon from the cardboard and nitrogen-based material from the kitchen waste, two essential ingredients for healthy plant growth," he added.

Mashable Light Speed
Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories?
Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter.
By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up!
Mashable Image
Have a rooftop garden? Add a compost bin to make your plants happy. Credit: Getty Images

Getting the balance just right

The RHS are strong supporters of composting and have done heaps of research (pun intended) on the matter. Getting the right balance of soft green materials to woody brown material is key in getting the bacteria and micro-organisms to do their job.

"Blending moist soft material such as vegetable waste, lawn mowings, and weeds with drier strawy material such as spent flower stems and fallen leaves in about 50:50 mix greatly enhances the speed of composting," Guy Barter from the RHS told me. "Unfortunately there is often a lot more soft material in the garden than strawy, but scrunched up newspaper, torn up cardboard and indeed shop-bought straw works well."

Try to get between 25 and 50 percent soft green organic matter — vegetable kitchen waste, grass clippings, weeds. The rest of your compost heap should be comprised of brown waste, woody material like paper, cardboard, dead leaves, and pruned yard waste. Try not to let one material dominate the heap. Too many grass clippings could make your compost really slimy and, let's face it, no one wants slimy compost.

Connolly from Willow and Greene advises putting twigs and branches at the base, then creating layers of brown ingredients then green waste. Then repeat!

Turn it up

Want to speed up your compost's rotting? Mix or turn the contents of your heap or bin. "This usually involves tipping the bin contents out and refilling the bin," said Barter. "A long handled fork lightens the labour."

Added bonus: Turning it makes your compost better.

Common composting problems with easy solutions

Has your bin gone dry and mouldy? Barter recommends adding water or lawn mowings.

Too slimy? Connolly recommends adding more browns.

Too dry? "Add more greens," said Connolly.

Flies? Make sure you cover your kitchen waste with garden waste to ensure moisture levels aren't too high.

To speed things up, "break ingredients into small pieces, adding moisture, turning the heap regularly and adding in extra worms or compost activators," Connolly added.

What about weeds? According to Barter, weed seeds and perennial weed roots will die in a hot compost bin "where the contents rot so fast they generate much heat." But achieving that "good heat" is pretty difficult unless you fill up your bin quickly with the right balance of materials. "This does not matter – material rots down well enough, if more slowly, at lower temperatures but it is best not to add weed seeds and perennial weed roots," he added.

Mashable Image
Try dry leaves as a brown base to balance your green material. Credit: Getty Images

When will it be ready?

It'll take between six months and two years to get mature compost. You'll know it's mature from its colour and texture: "dark brown with a crumbly soil-like texture and a smell resembling damp woodland," per the RHS.

Additional resources to help your composting process

Fancy a composting app to help in your efforts? ShareWaste connects people with kitchen waste with neighbours who are composting, keeping chickens, or worm-farming.

Not sure what items you can compost? Check out CompostThat, a very cool Instagram account that posts beautiful photos to inform you what works as compostable material.

If you want to find a compost program near you, the CompostNow website will help you check availability in your area.

Here's a great guide on all the myriad composting contraptions that you can buy.

Good luck and godspeed on your composting journey.

Related Video: This magical food recycler eliminates the grossest thing about composting

Mashable Image
Rachel Thompson
Features Editor

Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.

A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.

Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.


More from Social Good Series 2021
Blockchain technology helps these farmers be more sustainable
Blockchain technology helps these farmers be more sustainable

Why you won't need to eat insects to save the planet
Why you won't need to eat insects to save the planet

The Carbon Footprint Sham
Carbon footprint

Yes, alternative meat can help stop climate change. Here's why.
Yes, alternative meat can help stop climate change. Here's why.

5 ways to cope with climate change anxiety
5 ways to cope with climate change anxiety

Recommended For You
'Another Simple Favor' review: Blake Lively is at her best bad and mad
Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively toast in "Another Simple Favor."

'Another Simple Favor' trailer: Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick reunite for revenge
Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively in "Another Simple Favor."

Amazon deal of the day: Last chance to snag the Kindle Colorsoft at its best price ever
Fitbit Charge 6, Peloton Guide, Beats Studio Buds+, Amazon Echo Buds, and Amazon Kindle Colorsoft with pale pink and blue background

Unblock XVideos for free with this simple hack
Dark keyboard

Unblock xHamster for free with this simple hack
Dark laptop keyboard

More in Science


Save on groceries at Amazon: Get $5 off when you spend $20
Amazon groceries on green and yellow abstract background

This baby shower season, Target is tacking $30 gift cards onto $100 diaper and wipes purchases
Parent changing baby on table and grabbing wipe with hand


Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 10, 2025
Connections game on a smartphone

'Black Mirror' fans, be warned: DO NOT start with 'Common People'
Chris O'Dowd and Rashida Jones star in "Black Mirror: Common People."

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 10, 2025
Wordle game on a smartphone

Dire wolves have been brought back from extinction. What does this mean?
Dire wolves Romulus and Remus next to each other in the snow at five months old.

NYT Mini crossword answers, hints for April 10, 2025
Close-up view of crossword puzzle.
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!