Compost is an easy and effective way to eco friendly gardening. Also, the manure produced is loaded with nutrients and will enrich your soil better than any other fertilizer in the market can. Composting can be easily done in the comfort of your home. It uses up the trash thrown out form your home thus reducing the dump on landfills.
There are absolutely no downsides of making compost. Only you should watch out for a few pitfalls lest you end up creating a mess and with egg in your face. A few tips to make superior quality compost easily are given below.
Difficulty Level: Easy for first timers. Anyone can do it.
Time required: 3 to 4 weeks
Resources required
1. Compost bin
2. Garden soil
3. Water
4. Pitchfork
5. Trash
Estimated cost
If you use discarded bins and equipment â you can make compost without any initial investment. Otherwise composting kits are usually available in the range of $25 to $ 50.
Instructions
1. Make compost bin
Start by making the compost bin. Keep its dimensions to about 3 square feet to allow for air circulation. Also jumble up and loosen the compost once in a while to aid air circulation. With better air circulation lesser bacteria will be required to transform the garbage into compost.
2. Layer the soil
Add some soil in between the layers of compost and on the top. This introduces bacteria to work on the transformation process. Your garden soil can be used for layering.
3. Add some green waste
Make sure that you add some green waste to your compost like weeds, grass, fruit peels, vegetable leftovers, coffee grounds, etc. Rich in nitrogen, these green elements trigger heat production inside.
4. Use brown waste
Wilted flowers, withered weeds, hay, dead plants, sawdust, wooden bits, pencil shavings, and dry leaves are high in carbon content. Paper products like cardboard, gift wraps, foils, paper bags, tissues, notebooks, etc. are also a part of brown waste.
5. Check the ratio of carbon and nitrogen
You must balance the amount of carbon and nitrogen rich components you add to the bin. There should definitely be a lot more carbon loaded elements, about 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen is the best proportion.
6. Check the amount of water
Moisture is very important to get your compost working. However be careful about the amount of water you add. Too much water is bad, make sure the refuse is not swimming in the bin. Also, very less water can delay the formation of manure. Add just enough water to keep the contents damp.
Frequently asked questions
Any specifications about ingredients to be used in the compost?
Donât use them same type of ingredients like only leaves and grass or kitchen waste. Use a combination of different type of ingredients.
When to add materials in the bin?
All materials should added together on day one. Donât keep adding new materials to your compost bin as and when you throw out trash. This will slow down the production of manure. Layer up once and allow the trash to decompose all though the end.
Quick tips
Always have a lid for the compost bin. It will keep the stench to minimal. Also, it seals in the moisture reducing the need to add water every now and then. Be sure to add nitrogen rich component to you bin as without nitrogen the bacteria will be unable to synthesize the elements in the compost bin as food.
Before throwing in the litter, tear or break it down into smaller components. Crush egg shells, tear newspaper pages, mash up the vegetable peels, etc. This helps the compost to mature faster.
Things to watch out for
1.Donât add those shiny magazine pages or waxy cardboards to the compost. Avoid throwing in branches and chunky wooden parts.
2.Oily food products like butter, mayonnaise, sauces, and salad dressings also should not be added.
3.Donât just dump the components haphazardly. Layer them with alternate beds of carbon and nitrogen elements. Separate the alternate layers with mud or soil in between.
4. If you donât scuffle and jumble up the compost at least one a week then it will surely give out an unbearable stench.
5. Adding too many nitrogen rich products also gives off a foul smell. If too many rodents and cats are running into your bin then add some mousetraps, wires etc. outside. Also, avoid throwing in meat scraps and bones.
