Bagged compost costs $8–$15 per 40-lb bag. A 4×8 raised bed needs 8–10 bags on first fill. That's $80–$150 in compost alone — every year if you're depleting it. Or you can make unlimited compost from waste you're already generating, for free.
The Simple Cold Compost Method
Cold composting requires no turning, no precise carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, no thermometers. You add organic material, keep it moist, and come back in 3–6 months. It's slower than hot composting but requires zero effort beyond initial setup.
What to Add (and What Not To)
Yes: Fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, eggshells, grass clippings, leaves, cardboard (no tape), shredded newspaper.
No: Meat, fish, dairy, oily foods, pet waste, diseased plant material, anything treated with pesticides.
The 2:1 Brown-to-Green Rule
Composting is just about carbon (browns: dead leaves, cardboard, straw) and nitrogen (greens: kitchen scraps, fresh grass clippings). Roughly 2 parts brown to 1 part green by volume. Too much green = slimy and smelly. Too much brown = slow decomposition.
