Home Compost: The Mix That Keeps It From Smelling

Composting is household magic: you turn kitchen and plant scraps into a dark, fluffy, free fertilizer that your pots and garden will love. And you don't need a yard: with a small bin or a worm bin, you can do it on a balcony.

Fact	Home compost
Mix	2-3 parts brown : 1 green
Moisture	Like a wrung-out sponge
Aeration	Turn every 1-2 weeks
Ready in	2-4 months
On a balcony	Worm bin
Use	20-30% of the soil, or mulch

The secret: a "green and brown" balance

Good compost needs two types of material:

• Greens (nitrogen): fruit and veg scraps, coffee grounds, fresh grass, green leaves. They add moisture and proteins.
• Browns (carbon): cardboard, paper, dry leaves, twigs, sawdust. They add structure and air.

The rule of thumb: 2-3 parts brown to 1 part green. If it smells bad, you have too much green: add brown.

What to add and what to avoid

What TO add

Fruit and veg scraps, coffee grounds and filters, crushed eggshells, dry leaves, cardboard and ink-free paper, small prunings.

What NOT to add

• Meat, fish, dairy and greasy cooked food (they attract pests and smell).
• Pet feces.
• Diseased or pest-ridden plants.
• Citrus and onion in excess (worms don't like them).

How to start, step by step

1. Choose the container: a bin with a lid and airflow, or a worm bin (with red wigglers) ideal for a balcony and indoors.
2. Alternate layers of green and brown. Start and end with brown.
3. Keep it moist like a wrung-out sponge, not soggy.
4. Aerate by turning it every 1-2 weeks: oxygen speeds everything up and prevents odor.

If you also grow on the balcony, compost closes the loop: prunings and the old outer leaves of your swiss chard or lettuce go back on the pile, and months later they feed next season's tomatoes. For the day to day, homemade fertilizers give you options that don't need months of waiting.

When is it ready?

In 2-4 months (faster with worms and in warm weather). It'll be dark, crumbly and smell of forest soil. Use it mixed into your potting soil (20-30%) or as a mulch.

Common problems

• Smells bad: lacks air or too much green. Turn it and add brown.
• Fruit flies: bury the fruit scraps and cover with brown.
• Not breaking down: too dry or lacking green. Moisten and balance.

Start small with coffee grounds and peels, and in a few months you'll have free fertilizer for everything. 🌱