Use the free Backyard Compost Planner below, right in your browser. No sign-up, no software to install, and nothing is sent to a server.
A backyard compost setup works best when it is planned as a small system, not bought as a single bin. A backyard compost planner looks at your household size and your garden waste level, then gives you a bin size, a browns store target, and a turning routine for the year. Those three answers, plus a good site, are the whole plan, and they save you from the two classic failures: a bin that overflows in summer and a pile that never gets turned.
Two bins beat one bin almost every time. With one bin, you keep adding fresh material to the top, so the pile never finishes and you never get usable compost out of the bottom. With two bins, one fills while the other matures untouched, and you harvest finished compost from the resting bin each season. The planner bin size is a total across the setup, so split it across two bins if you have the space, even if that means two smaller bins rather than one big one.
Bin size follows household size more than garden size, because kitchen scraps arrive every week of the year while garden waste comes in seasonal bursts. A single person fills a small bin slowly, while a family of five or six needs real capacity just for food scraps. The planner adds extra volume for medium and high garden waste, so autumn leaves and summer clippings have somewhere to go without swamping the kitchen-scrap routine.
The browns store is the part most people forget, and it is the part that prevents smells. Every time you add kitchen scraps, you should cover them with browns, and that only works if browns are sitting right beside the bins. Keep large sacks of dry leaves, straw, or shredded cardboard within arm reach, and refill them each autumn when leaves are free and plentiful. A bin area without a browns store is a bin area that will smell by July.
Site choice makes daily use pleasant or miserable. Put bins on bare soil, not concrete, so worms and drainage can reach the pile from below. Light shade keeps summer piles from drying out, while full shade in winter slows heating, so dappled shade under a tree is ideal. Keep the bins near a water point and near the kitchen door, because a long walk with a smelly caddy kills the habit fast. Leave room beside the bins to stand and turn.
Tools for the setup are few but worth gathering in one place. A sturdy garden fork turns better than a spade, a watering can waters more gently than a hose, and a cover, tarp, or old carpet keeps rain off and heat in. A small caddy with a lid in the kitchen, lined with newspaper, makes collecting scraps clean. A thermometer is a nice extra for curious composters, but it is not required for good results.
The yearly routine is simple once the setup is right. In spring, empty the resting bin onto beds and start filling it again. In summer, turn monthly, water in dry spells, and keep covering fresh scraps with browns. In autumn, gather leaves for the browns store and fill the active bin generously. In winter, turn less, keep the cover on, and let the pile rest. The planner turning count is a yearly average, and the growing season carries most of it.
Containers and small-space gardeners can use the same plan at a smaller scale. A single large container bin, a worm bin, or a bokashi bucket can handle kitchen scraps for a flat or small yard, and the browns store becomes a single sack rather than a stack. The principles do not change: cover fresh scraps, keep the mix damp, and let one batch finish before you keep adding to it. Even a balcony setup benefits from a written plan.
What goes in matters as much as the bins. Fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea leaves, eggshells, garden clippings, leaves, and straw are all welcome. Meat, fish, cooked food, and diseased plants are better left out of a home pile, because they attract rats and can carry problems. When in doubt, leave it out: a slightly smaller pile that works well beats a bigger pile that smells and draws pests.
Neighbours and rules deserve a quick check before you build. Most areas welcome home composting, but some have rules about bin placement near boundaries or about open piles. A tidy setup with a cover, no smells, and no visible food waste rarely causes trouble, and finished compost is a wonderful gift for neighbours with gardens. A quick chat before you build saves awkward conversations later.
Try the tool above with your household size and garden waste level, then sketch the setup: two bins, a browns store, a fork, and a cover. A planned backyard system turns a chore into a five-minute habit, and within a year it will be feeding your beds with compost you made yourself.
Versión en español: Planificador de Compost Casero Para Macetas