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QUESTION: Can I add fertilizer to my compost pile?

ANSWER: Yes, and doing so can be beneficial for your compost if you don’t add too much. Adding fertilizer and minerals to your compost pile allows the organisms in your compost to work their best and helps them produce healthy soil. Fertilizers are needed in compost because the organisms in compost that work to break down your kitchen scraps use up large amounts of nitrogen as well as some potash and phosphorus in the process of breaking down organic materials into compost.

Remember that fertilizer is generally very nitrogen rich, so it will throw your compost out of balance if you don’t have enough carbon rich materials in there.

One way to “cheat” at composting is to collect a large amount of dried leaves in the fall, and sprinkle a nitrogen rich fertilizer on them and water it in. The carbon and nitrogen combination works to break them down faster, if you don’t have enough other nitrogen rich materials available for regular composting.

QUESTION: Can ginger be composted?

ANSWER: In small amounts, ginger is okay to add to compost, however, there are a couple of reasons why adding ginger to your compost isn’t such a great idea if you have a large amount of it. First, the outer layer is woody and takes a long time to break down in compost. Secondly, worms tend to avoid spicy or flavorful foods such as garlic, onions, and ginger, so adding ginger can slow down the decomposition process of your compost significantly. Lastly, adding ginger to your compost pile can create unpleasant odors. So, though it is safe to add small amounts of ginger to your compost, you are better off replanting your ginger or using it to make a delicious broth.

QUESTION: Can garlic go in compost?

ANSWER: Yes, garlic can be composted but there are a couple of reasons why you might want to avoid using garlic in your compost, especially in large quantities. Garlic cloves have a tendency to re-sprout if left whole, so if you are going to compost your garlic, make sure to chop them up so that they won’t start growing out of your compost bin. Also, alliums like onions and garlic are not great for worm composting systems, as worms tend to avoid chomping on garlic and other strongly flavored or spicy food items.

So if you are adding garlic to your compost, try to limit the amount that you add. Instead of composting your excess garlic, why not replant your cloves and grow more garlic for future use?

QUESTION: Can flowers go in compost?

ANSWER: Flowers, like most other plants, can be used as a composting ingredient. Fresh flowers should be considered green compost material, while dried flowers should be considered brown compost material.

Don’t add any flowers to your compost pile that died from any kind of plant disease, as the disease could infect your compost and then spread to your garden when you amend your soil. 

Flowers that come from the florist are fine for composting.

QUESTION: Can dryer lint go in compost?

ANSWER: Dryer lint from natural fibers, like cotton towels or sheets, is perfectly compostable and will break down in your compost just like every other additive. Dryer lint from synthetic fibers like polyester are not organic materials and should not be added to your compost. If it’s a mix of stuff from drying all your clothes together and is mostly natural materials, it isn’t worth worrying about.