Composting is an essential component of any farm or garden. It is by far the simplest method for converting kitchen scraps, grass clippings, leaf litter, and even your dog’s feces into rich, nutritious soil that will add richness and fecundity to any garden bed. Making compost is nothing more than the process of allowing millions of tiny organisms to feast on your trash. It is essentially the act of piling up in layers a range of different organic materials to allow them to degrade, similar to lasagna gardening.
Why is composting easy?
One-third of household garbage may be composted. Yard rakings, such as fallen leaves, weeds, grass clippings, and the disease-free remnants of garden plants, may all be composted, as can fruit and vegetable peelings, egg shells, and coffee grounds. Composting is straightforward and just needs a small amount of work on your side. There are several composting containers available on the market that encapsulate the compost pile in a tidy packaging. You may construct your own, ensuring that the organic waste is exposed to lots of air, or simply form a tidy unstructured pile in a corner of your yard.
Kitchen and yard trash will decay on their own if left alone, but there are a few things you can do to speed up the rotting process and assure a sweet-smelling compost pile all season. While there is no “recipe” for composting, the following general guidelines should be followed:
The greater the variety of your composting materials, the better
Compost can be made by combining chicken excrement with wheat straw (as some commercial composting facilities do), but it will be less nutrient-dense.
You want to strive for an 80:20 carbon : nitrogen ratio
That means that around 80% of the materials you add in your compost pile must be carbon-based, while just 20% must be nitrogen-based. How do you tell which one is which? Any plant-based material that is dead and brown in color is considered a carbon material. This can contain things like leaves, straw, and hay. Nitrogen sources are derived from manure, green organic material, and kitchen wastes. Thus, new grass clippings are considered nitrogen materials, but old, brown grass that you chopped last month is called carbon materials.
Look for tree material that can fix nitrogen
If you intend to compost leaves, search for leaves from nitrogen-fixing trees or bushes such as alder trees, black locust, and others. These plants’ leaves provide additional nutrients.
Maintain aeration
The most common issue that individuals have with their compost piles is that they become anaerobic, which means that no oxygen can enter the pile. The strong odor of anaerobic decomposition is well known. Here’s a general rule of thumb: Your compost pile should not stink. If you notice a strange odor, flip your compost and allow fresh air to enter.
Water your compost
Do this on a regular basis, but not excessively. Anaerobic conditions can develop when there is an excess of water.
Spin
If you want it done faster, spin it more frequently. The more you turn your compost, the faster the microbes will break it down. If you don’t mind letting it rest for a few months, rotating isn’t necessary.
When will the compost be completed?
When your compost has become the color of black soil and smells like the forest floor on a wet day, it’s time to apply it to your garden beds. It is a good idea to maintain many compost piles running at the same time so that you may have a ready supply of compost all year.
Composting Do’s
In this article, I will also present the do’s and don’ts in composting. Let us start with the things you need to do. They are as follows:
1.Select a flat, shady location for your compost pile that is a comfortable distance from the home for adding kitchen trash on a regular basis.
2. Begin with a layer of nutrient-rich material like manure, bone meal, or your own completed compost.
3. Continue to add layers of kitchen and yard trash, as well as thin layers of topsoil (to introduce beneficial bacteria).
4. Because grass blades contain a lot of water, it’s best to let them dry out on the lawn before adding them to your compost pile.
5. Maintain a sponge-like wetness in the pile. To prevent the pile from being completely soaked by rain, it’s a good idea to keep it covered.
6. Once or twice a week, turn your compost pile to allow fresh air to reach all areas. Allowing oxygen into the pile of organic waste avoids the development of an unpleasant sour odor.
7. You may keep adding to your compost pile throughout the winter, but the bacteria that decomposes the trash will not become active until the weather warms up.
8. Your compost pile will warm up and start working again when the weather warms up in the spring.
9. Before and after, thoroughly wash your hands.
Composting Don’ts
Now, we will talk about the things that you must not do as you practice composting.
1.Wood ashes can be composted, however charcoal ashes from your barbeque should not be.
2. Pet waste should not be added to your compost pile if you intend to use it to grow vegetables.
3. Composting meat, bones, or fatty items like cooking oil, cheese, or salad dressings may attract pests that are detrimental.
Always remember that a well-managed compost pile will provide you with a nutrient-rich, earth-scented conditioner that you can use in planters, window boxes, flower beds, shrub borders, or any other landscaping location. You will also be pleased by knowing that by reducing, reusing, and recycling your trash, you are contributing to the preservation of our beautiful ecosystem.
If you are looking to start your garden, check out the links in the description for our recommended books and audiobooks.
Don’t forget to download the free ebook too.
Backyard Gardening Book (paperback)
Backyard Gardening Book (audiobook)
Urban Gardening Book (paperback)
Urban Gardening Book (audiobook)
TOP 10 ESSENTIAL TOOLS THAT A BEGINNER GARDENER NEEDS
GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS GUIDE [14 TIPS TO BE SUCCESSFUL]
References
(1) Roberts, T. (2017, October 17). A Primer on Creating Soil. The Permaculture Research Institute News. https://www.permaculturenews.org/2017/10/13/primer-creating-soil/
(2) Gemmell’s Garden Center (2017, April 6). From Garbage to Garden | Composting Best Practices | The ABC’s of Composting. https://www.gemmellsgardencentre.com/site/garden-news-tips-kanata-perth/2017/04/06/the-abcs-of-composting