Almost all organic wastes can be composted. Organic wastes from the kitchen can be put into the compost. This includes vegetable cuttings, fruit peels and pits, and even coffee grounds and eggshells (eggshells will no break down with the rest but help to oxygenate the compost and improve drainage). Make sure to avoid meat scraps and fats. For outdoor wastes, dead leaves, grass clippings, and plant wastes are all compostable. If you have dogs, avoid adding grass clippings from the backyard. Also avoid adding weeds whenever possible, since you don’t want to add seeds from noxious plants into your garden. Finally, maintaining a healthy balance between nitrogen and carbon will help speed up the composting process and cut down on odors. The best way to ensure a good ratio of nitrogen to carbon in your pile is to include roughly 2 parts green organics to 1 part brown organics (this is more of a general guideline than an exact science, so don’t worry if you can’t achieve this ratio exactly–even one part green to one part brown organics works well).
Composting is great for the environment and can also help with home gardening. Gardeners call compost “black gold” because it is such an effective fertilizer. Sprinkle compost on your garden or mix it with peat moss and pearlite for a great potting mix.