Compost bin checklist
Compost is mostly a ratio problem: too many kitchen scraps and it turns to slime, too much cardboard and nothing rots at all. Getting the balance right does the rest of the work.
22 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Bin sited on bare soil, not pavingLets worms and other decomposers get in from underneath.
- Base layer of twigs or coarse materialKeeps air moving through the bottom of the heap.
- Kitchen caddy set up for scrapsMakes it realistic to add to the bin daily rather than once a week.
- Stockpile of cardboard or shredded paper kept nearbyThe "browns" that balance wet kitchen scraps.
- Lid or cover fittedKeeps rain from waterlogging the heap and heat from escaping.
- What goes in
- Vegetable and fruit peelings
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
- Grass cuttings, mixed with browns rather than piled alone
- Cardboard, torn or shredded
- Dry leaves and twigs
- What never goes in
- Meat, fish, dairy or cooked food
- Pet waste
- Diseased plants or perennial weed roots
- Glossy or coloured paper
- Heap turned every few weeksGets air into the middle, which speeds everything up.
- Moisture checked with a squeeze testShould feel like a wrung-out sponge — add browns if it's slimy, water if it's dry.
- Base protected against ratsA mesh floor or a solid bin base keeps them from tunnelling in.
- Second bin started, if the first is fullOne rotting down while the other fills means never running out.
- Finished compost testedDark, crumbly and smelling of soil — that's when it's ready to use.
- Finished compost spread on beds or dug in
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- What's the right mix for a compost bin?
- Roughly equal parts "greens" (kitchen scraps, grass cuttings) and "browns" (cardboard, dry leaves, twigs). All greens turns to a wet, smelly mass; all browns barely rots.
- What should never go in a compost bin?
- Meat, dairy, cooked food, pet waste and diseased plant material. All of them either attract vermin, smell badly, or reintroduce the problem into next year's beds.
- How do I know when compost is ready?
- It's dark, crumbly and smells of soil rather than of what went into it. Depending on the mix and the season, that's usually six months to a year from starting the bin.