What to Compost (and What to Never Put in Your Pile)

Backyard Farming: Composting by Kim Pezza
Author: Kim Pezza | ISBN: 978-1-57826-587-9

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Chapter 5 is where compost stops being theoretical. Pezza splits materials into greens (nitrogen) and browns (carbon), then draws a hard line on what never goes in.

Greens (nitrogen-rich)

Fruit and veggie scraps, bread, pasta, coffee grounds and filters, alfalfa, clover, hay (watch weed seeds), garden waste, grass clippings, seaweed, manure, weeds past seed stage, crushed eggshells, old grains and spices. Moldy food is fine.

Browns (carbon-rich)

Paper, junk mail, egg cartons, cardboard in moderation, dried leaves, wood ash sparingly, bark, sawdust, shredded newspaper, stalks, pine needles, straw, twigs in small pieces.

Wood ash adds potassium and phosphorus but is alkaline. Use only from clean firewood, not charcoal or treated lumber. Fruit tree ash may carry spray residues.

Feathers, hair, sod (if pile runs hot), chopped leather, nut shells can work with caveats.

Rinse water and old drinks add moisture in small doses.

Skip these

Coal ash, glossy or colored paper, diseased plants (unless pile gets hot enough), treated wood, synthetics, meat, bones, fish, dairy, fats, rice (bad bacteria risk), pet waste and cat litter (pathogens).

Black walnut leaves and roots release juglone, which kills tomatoes, potatoes, blueberries, and more. Some compost walnut leaves anyway and test with a tomato seedling first. Pezza says use judgment.

Kitchen scrap storage

Use a countertop pail or five-gallon bucket with a lid. Chop scraps. Empty daily or every other day. Fridge in a sealed bag works for a day or two in tight kitchens.

Layer a little finished compost into the kitchen bucket to cut smells and fruit flies. Wash containers often or your kitchen will hate you.

Layering and adding

Start with alternating brown and green layers. Turn every few weeks. Once the pile is cooking, you can dump new stuff without strict layering.

Ratios: some say 1:1 brown to green by volume, others prefer 2:1 browns. Too much nitrogen = smelly, slow, dense pile. Spread additions, chop everything, avoid clumps.

Leaf composting on the side

Fall leaves overflow most bins. Make a separate leaf pile: shaded, drained spot, layers of leaves and dirt, 4 feet wide and 3 feet high. Takes up to six months. Leaf compost is a soil conditioner, not a full fertilizer alone.

Livestock composting (the heavy section)

Death happens on farms. Rendering is expensive and fading. Burial is restricted in many areas and risks groundwater if done wrong.

Composting carcasses can save money, handle downed animals on-site, and return nutrients. Check local rules through your extension office first.

Site away from wells, streams, and neighbor sightlines. High ground, manageable runoff.

Build a 2 to 3 foot mulch bed, lay the animal, cover with 4 feet of dry carbon material (wood chips, sawdust), cone-shaped to shed rain. Puncture ruminant stomachs to prevent bloating. Large animals take ~3 months; broiler hens around 30 days. Proper piles smell like nothing and attract nothing.

Carcasses are wet and nitrogen-heavy. Surround with absorbent, high-carbon material at roughly 50% moisture (handful squeeze test: sticks slightly, few drops).

Pezza composted a pet dairy goat herself. Odor-free, she says, if you follow the steps.

My reaction

The kitchen list is what most readers need. The livestock section is niche but serious. I didn’t expect a backyard compost book to cover goat disposal with this much detail.

Don’t treat your pile like a garbage can. That line should be on a sticker.

Previous: Red Worms and Vermicomposting | Next: Carbon and Nitrogen Ratios