Start simple. You need only a small space outdoors to start converting food scraps into a “supercharged” soil additive. Start your compost heap with an airy layer of “brown” materials—dry leaves, hay, or shredded newspaper. “The browns provide carbon.”
Layer it on. Add a thinner “green layer” next. This is where food scraps go—fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds. Grass clippings also work well in the green layers, which produce nitrogen. “Continue layering browns and greens in a 2-to-1 ratio, ending with a layer of brown.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
How can we fix tourism?Today's Big Question Local protests over negative impact of ever-rising visitor numbers could change how we travel forever
-
Simone Biles: Rising – an 'elegantly paced and vulnerable' portrait of the gymnastThe Week Recommends Netflix's four-part documentary is more than a 'riveting comeback story'
-
Paloma recipe: the cocktail of the summerThe Week Recommends This refreshing drink balances the fresh and fizzy taste of grapefruit soda with a subtle flavour of smooth tequila
