Compost Contributors
If you would like to join the garden as a kitchen compost member, e-mail us to register and set up a time for a 20-minute compost tutorial. Occasionally, compost members may be asked to help with compost-related tasks on a voluntary basis. Tasks include turning and sifting compost and usually take no more than an hour.
The garden accepts the following kitchen scraps for composting:
- Uncooked fruit and vegetables (including corn cobs, potato peels, fruit rinds, cores)
- Coffee grounds and paper filters
- Tea bags without staples
- Seaweed
- Crushed eggshells
All kitchen scraps need to be chopped into one- to three-inch pieces before they can be added to the compost. (Chopping scraps helps materials to break down faster.)
List of Compost No-No's
The materials below are unsuitable for our open-air compost system. Some attract vermin; others may contain substances that are harmful to the aerobic bacteria hard at work breaking down the plant-based materials. Be sure to keep these materials out of our compost.
- Meat and bones
- Fish
- Dairy products (e.g., cheese, milk, yogurt)
- Eggs (but crushed eggshells are acceptable)
- Fats, oils, and grease
- Cooked food
- Cut flowers
- Grass clippings
- Woody yard waste
- Diseased plants
- Pesticide-treated plants
- Plastic, plastic bags, twist ties, and rubber bands
- Compostable utensils and dishes
- Cat and dog waste
- Wood ashes
- Treated wood, sawdust, and plywood shavings
