How do you compost orange peels?

QUESTION: How do you compost orange peels? My family eats a LOT of oranges. – Jill S

ANSWER: Orange peels and other citrus peels are great for adding to your compost piles. As citrus peels break down, they will add phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium to your compost, all three of the most important nutrients that plants need to thrive.

However, adding whole citrus peels to your compost is a bad idea because large pieces will take forever to break down. To help accelerate the decomposition process, break your peels down into tiny pieces that will break down faster and easier than large pieces. Of course, if you don’t have time for that, they’ll still break down eventually! It’s just a matter of speeding things up.

Learn more tips on speeding up your composting here.