To make a composter in Minecraft, place seven wooden slabs in a U shape on a crafting table: slabs down the left and right columns and across the bottom row, with the middle of the top two rows left empty.
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Fill the finished block with seeds and other compostable items and it turns them into bone meal once it is full.
The fastest way to make a composter in Minecraft
Two logs of any wood are enough for one composter, with planks and slabs left over.
- Put one log in the crafting grid to get four planks. Do this with both logs for eight planks.
- At a crafting table, lay three planks in one horizontal row to get six slabs.
- Repeat with three more planks, so you hold twelve slabs.
- Place seven slabs in the U pattern: left column, right column and the full bottom row.
- Take the composter from the output slot and place it on the ground.
Resources you need to make a composter
| Item | How many for one composter | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden slabs | 7, any wood type | Three planks in a row at a crafting table make six slabs |
| Planks | 6 (two rows of three) | One log in the crafting grid makes four planks |
| Logs | 2 | Chopped from any tree |
| Crafting table | 1 | The composter recipe and the slab recipe both need the full crafting table grid |
The recipe accepts any wooden slab, so mixed oak, birch or spruce slabs all work in the same grid.
Minecraft composter recipe
| Crafting grid row | Left | Middle | Right |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Wooden slab | Empty | Wooden slab |
| Middle | Wooden slab | Empty | Wooden slab |
| Bottom | Wooden slab | Wooden slab | Wooden slab |
The output is one composter. In Bedrock Edition's vanilla recipe data the recipe unlocks in the recipe book as soon as a wooden slab is in your inventory.
How to craft a composter in Minecraft
- Place a crafting table and open it to get the three-by-three grid.
- Put a wooden slab in the top-left and top-right squares.
- Put a wooden slab in the middle-left and middle-right squares.
- Fill all three squares of the bottom row with wooden slabs.
- Leave the top-middle and center squares empty, then take the composter from the result slot.
- To skip the grid, open the recipe book while holding wooden slabs and select the composter.
How to use a composter
A composter holds material in layers. Its fill level runs from 0 for empty to 8, and each compostable item has a chance between 1 and 100 percent of adding a layer when it goes in.
Different items have different chances: beetroot seeds raise the level 30% of the time, while a hay bale does it 85% of the time.
- Place the composter on the ground next to your farm.
- Hold a compostable item, such as wheat seeds or beetroot seeds, and use it on the composter.
- Keep adding items. Some do not raise the level, because each item only has a chance to add a layer.
- Keep going until the compost level reaches the top of the block.
- Use the full composter with an empty hand to collect the bone meal.
- Use the bone meal on growing crops.
Most food and plant-based items can be composted. Bamboo, poisonous potatoes, dead bushes, and meat and fish cannot.
Composter or bones: which way should you get bone meal?
| Your situation | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You farm wheat or beetroot and pile up spare seeds | Composter | Spare seeds become bone meal instead of filling chests |
| You have bones from skeletons | Crafting grid | One bone makes three bone meal straight away |
| You live next to a village farm | Your own composter, away from the farm | A farmer villager empties a full composter at its work site and keeps the bone meal for its own crops |
| You need bone meal right now | Bones | A composter needs many items before it is full |
Where to find a composter in your world
In Bedrock Edition, farmer villagers use a composter as their work site. During their work schedule they walk to it, drop in spare seeds and empty it when it is full, so following a working farmer leads you to its composter.
You can borrow the composter from a farmer's work site in a village, then put it back when you are done. Crafting your own is usually faster than searching, since two logs cover the whole recipe.
| What a farmer villager does at a composter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Adds spare seeds | Converts excess seeds into bone meal |
| Keeps some back | Composts only the seeds it holds above 10 of each item |
| Adds items in batches | Up to 20 items per visit |
| Empties a full composter | Takes the bone meal and spends it fertilizing crops |
| Stops in the rain | Does not work at a composter that is being rained on |
| Restocks its trades | Arriving at its composter triggers the farmer's trade resupply |
How to check the composter is filling
- Add items one at a time and watch the material level rise inside the block as layers are added.
- Keep adding items until the composter is full.
- Use the full composter with an empty hand; bone meal arriving in your inventory proves it worked.
Fix a composter in Minecraft that is not working
The composter level does not rise after you add an item
Each item has only a percentage chance of adding a layer, so some items do not raise the level.
- Keep adding items; the level rises on the successful ones.
- Use your largest pile of spare seeds rather than items you need.
An item will not go into the composter
Bamboo, poisonous potatoes, dead bushes, and meat and fish cannot be composted.
- Switch to a food or plant-based item, such as seeds, crops or hay bales.
- Keep meat and fish for eating instead.
The composter is empty again after you filled it
A farmer villager working at that composter can empty it when it is full.
- Collect the bone meal yourself as soon as the composter is full.
- Place your own composter away from the village fields.
The farmer villager never uses the composter
Farmers skip composter work while their work site is being rained on, and only compost seeds above the 10 they keep.
- Wait for the rain to stop.
- Let the farmer collect more seeds from the field so it holds a surplus.
The composter recipe is missing from the recipe book
The recipe unlocks only once a wooden slab is in your inventory.
- Craft slabs from three planks in a row.
- Open the recipe book again with the slabs in your inventory.
Frequently asked questions
How many wooden slabs does a composter need?
A composter needs seven wooden slabs. Place them down the left column, down the right column and across the bottom row of a crafting table grid, leaving the top-middle and center squares empty.
Can you mix wood types in a composter recipe?
Yes. The recipe accepts any wooden slab, so oak, spruce, birch or other wooden slabs can share the same crafting grid and still make one composter.
How many logs do you need for a composter?
Two logs are enough. Each log makes four planks, six planks make twelve slabs across two crafts, and the composter uses seven of them, leaving five slabs and two planks spare.
What does a composter make in Minecraft?
A composter makes bone meal. Fill it with compostable items such as spare seeds until it is full, then use it to collect the bone meal and spend it on growing crops.
Why does a composter not fill every time you add an item?
Each compostable item has a chance between 1 and 100 percent of adding a layer when it goes in. The fill level runs from 0 to 8, so filling a composter usually takes more items than it has levels.
Which villager uses a composter?
The farmer villager uses a composter as its work site. It adds spare seeds above the 10 of each it keeps, empties the composter when full and uses the bone meal on crops.
Did the composter recipe ever use fences?
Yes. Composters arrived in the Village & Pillage update in 2019 and originally needed fences to craft. The Buzzy Bees update changed the recipe to wooden slabs only, so fences no longer craft a composter.
Is a composter better than crafting bone meal from bones?
Bones are faster, since one bone makes three bone meal in the crafting grid. A composter suits farms that pile up spare seeds, because it turns items you have no other use for into bone meal.
