Composting: Turning Kitchen Scraps into Garden Gold

Reducing Waste and Creating Nutrient Dense Soil

One of the most satisfying things we’ve done since our second year of gardening is composting. Knowing that all the garden scraps, paper products, kitchen peelings, and yard clippings eventually turn into rich, alive soil for the next season feels so rewarding — and it’s fantastic for the health of your garden. We keep a container on our kitchen counter, fill it throughout the week with everything from veggie trimmings to coffee grounds, then haul it out to our compost bins in the yard. Over time, our compost has yielded tons of nutrient-dense dirt that gives our plants a strong foundation.

What Composting Is & Why It Matters

Composting is a natural recycling process where organic materials break down under the action of microbes, turning into what’s often called “black gold.” It enriches soil, improves soil structure, helps retain moisture, and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. If you compost at home, you’re also reducing what you send to the landfill.

What You’ll Need to Start Composting

Here are the basics:

• A compost bin or pile: could be a store-bought compost bin (I've linked ours here) or just a simple heap in a corner of your yard.

• Brown materials (carbon sources): dry leaves, straw, shredded paper or cardboard (non-glossy), wood chips, etc.

• Green materials (nitrogen sources): kitchen scraps (vegetable & fruit peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags), grass clippings, fresh garden trimmings.

• Moisture & air: compost should be kept damp, not soaking wet. Turning or mixing occasionally helps add air so the microbes can do their work.

• A cover or lid (optional but helpful): to protect from heavy rain, retain heat, and keep pests away.

  
  

What You Can Compost & What You Shouldn’t

From what we’ve learned through trial and error and online research here is a guideline to set you up for success:

Good stuff to include:

• Fruit and vegetable scraps

• Coffee grounds and tea bags

• Eggshells, crushed

• Yard waste: leaves, grass clippings, garden trimmings

• Non-glossy paper, shredded cardboard, paper towels

  
  

What to avoid or use carefully:

• Meat, fish, bones, dairy, oils/fats

• Plants or wood treated with strong chemicals or pesticides

• Diseased or bug-infested plants, and weeds that have gone to seed

• Glossy, plastic-coated paper, plastics, metals, etc.

  
  

How We Do It: Our Composting Routine

Here’s what works for us, based on our years in the garden:

1. Collect daily scraps in a kitchen counter container

2. Add to the yard compost bins weekly (or as needed)

3. Turning: Occasionally turning helps air flow and keeps decomposition going

   
   

When Your Compost Is Ready & Using It

You’ll know it’s done when it’s dark, crumbly, smells earthy (not sour or rotten), and most of the original material is unrecognizable. We harvest ours when we’re planning the garden so we can spread it into beds or mix into the soil before planting.

Final Thoughts

Composting isn’t perfect, glamorous, or always fast. But every time I scoop up that rich, dark compost and put it around a tomato, pepper, or squash plant — it reminds me that gardening is a cycle, and I get to be part of it. If you’ve never tried composting, start small. You’ll find it’s one of the most deeply satisfying ways to put your kitchen and garden together.