What Can and Can't I Compost?

Composting is one of the best things Atlanta gardeners can do for their soil — especially given our heavy red clay, which desperately needs organic matter to improve drainage and fertility. According to UGA Extension, you can compost grass clippings, leaves, twigs, vegetable scraps, fruit peels, coffee grounds, tea bags, eggshells, flowers, and sawdust. Aim for a ratio of roughly four parts "browns" (dry leaves, cardboard, wood chips) to one part "greens" (food scraps, fresh clippings).

Keep these out of your pile: meat, bones, dairy, cooking oils, pet waste, diseased plants, invasive plants, and weed seeds or rhizomes — these attract pests or spread problems throughout your garden.

For Atlanta gardeners, finished compost is especially valuable worked into beds as an amendment, not used straight as a growing medium, which can spike pH and nutrient levels too high for vegetables.

If you're not sure where to start, Pixels to Petals offers hands-on garden coaching to help Intown Atlanta residents build productive, healthy kitchen and edible gardens from the ground up — literally.