Why Every Garden Needs a Compost Pile

Composting is the simplest and most effective method to nourish your garden sustainably. Instead of buying expensive fertilizer, you turn kitchen and garden waste into nutrient-rich humus - the gardener's "black gold".

The Benefits at a Glance

Free: No more buying fertilizer
Sustainable: Up to 40% less residual household waste
Soil improvement: Humus stores water and nutrients
Biodiversity: A compost pile is home to thousands of beneficial organisms

Choosing the Perfect Location

The compost spot determines success or failure:

Partial shade - Full sun dries it out, full shade is too damp
Sheltered from wind - Prevents drying out
Soil contact - Never on concrete or paving! Soil organisms must be able to migrate in
Easily accessible - A short path from the kitchen motivates you to compost

Tip: Plan for at least 1 × 1.5 meters. Ideal is a three-chamber system: fresh → maturing → finished.

What Can Go on the Compost?

✅ Perfectly Suitable

Material	Category	Decomposition
Fruit and vegetable scraps	Nitrogen-rich (green)	2-4 weeks
Coffee grounds and tea leaves	Nitrogen-rich	2-3 weeks
Grass clippings (slightly dried)	Nitrogen-rich	3-6 weeks
Leaves and straw	Carbon-rich (brown)	2-6 months
Finely cut hedge trimmings	Carbon-rich	3-6 months
Eggshells (crushed)	Mineral	6-12 months
Wood ash (untreated, sparingly)	Mineral	Immediately

❌ Never on the Compost

Cooked food scraps - attract rats
Meat and fish - rot and stench
Diseased plants - pathogens survive
Weeds with seeds - spread throughout the garden
Treated wood - toxins get into the soil
Citrus peels in large amounts - too acidic, inhibit microorganisms

The Golden Rule: The C:N Ratio

Good compost needs the right ratio of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) - ideally 25-30:1.

How to achieve the perfect mix:

Rule of thumb: For every layer of "green" (kitchen waste, grass clippings), add an equally thick layer of "brown" (leaves, straw, cardboard).

Too wet and smelly? → Mix in more brown material
Too dry, nothing happening? → Add green material and water
Mold on top? → Turn it over and aerate

Setting Up Compost in 5 Steps

Step 1: Base Layer (20 cm)

Coarse branches and twigs as drainage - ensures aeration from below.

Step 2: Layer Alternately

Always alternating: green - brown - green - brown. Each layer about 10-15 cm thick.

Step 3: Add a Compost Starter

A shovelful of finished compost or garden soil introduces the necessary microorganisms. Alternatively: nettle slurry as an activator.

Step 4: Keep It Moist

The compost should feel like a wrung-out sponge - moist, but not dripping. Water it when dry, cover it during prolonged rain.

Step 5: Turn It Regularly

Turn it over with a pitchfork every 4-6 weeks. This brings oxygen into the system and considerably speeds up decomposition.

Compost Variants Compared

Method	Space Needed	Duration	Ideal For
Open heap	Large (3+ m²)	6-12 months	Large gardens
Slatted composter	Medium (1-2 m²)	6-9 months	Standard gardens
Thermal composter	Small (< 1 m²)	3-4 months	Small gardens, fast results
Worm bin	Minimal (balcony)	Ongoing	Apartments, balconies
Bokashi bucket	Minimal (kitchen)	2-4 weeks (fermentation)	All kitchen waste incl. cooked

When Is the Compost Ready?

Finished compost is recognized by:

Color: Dark brown to black
Smell: Pleasantly earthy (like forest floor)
Structure: Crumbly, no recognizable starting materials
Temperature: No longer warm inside

Test the Degree of Maturity

Fill a handful of compost into a flower pot and sow cress seeds. If the cress germinates evenly and vigorously within 5-7 days, the compost is mature.

Compost in PermaNatura

With PermaNatura you can record compost applications as a measure in your digital field log. This way you keep track of which beds were fertilized and when - and the AI takes your compost supply into account in its cultivation recommendations.

Pro tip: Start a new compost pile now in spring - by autumn you will have perfect fertilizer for preparing your beds for winter!

Sources: NABU Kompostfibel, Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture, German Environment Agency

Setting Up Compost the Right Way: From Kitchen Scraps to Black Gold