This recipe works for mixing food scraps and yard trimmings together, and requires a rodent-resistant compost bin and active maintenance to prevent animal nesting and feeding.

• Feed yard trimmings to your bin as you generate them by chopping them first into pieces 6” or smaller.
• Food scraps need to be buried and mixed into the center of the pile. 
• Learn what you can put in your compost bin, click here.
• Feed as often as you like but be sure to mix in enough browns to balance your greens, and always top with browns (never dump food and run!).
• Maintain compost by turning or mixing it about once a week, and keep it as moist as a wrung-out sponge. 
• Harvest rich, brown, finished compost by sifting out coarse, unfinished materials after 3 to 8 months.
• Get more helpful tips by checking out our Troubleshooting Your Backyard Bin, and FAQ Backyard Composting pages.

How can you tell when compost is done?

• It will look like soil and smell sweet and earthy.
• The volume of the pile will shrink by 30-50 percent.
• The original materials will be unrecognizable, except some woody pieces.

Storing compost

We recommend “aging” your compost by letting it sit for six months before using.

• Cover with a tarp or keep in a sheltered space to protect from the rain and sun.
• Remove the tarp periodically to provide air.

NOTE: If unfinished compost is added to your soil, the decomposer organisms compete with plants for nitrogen, resulting in stunted plant growth and yellow leaves.