The ultimate guide to composting

Why should you compost?

While you may reduce your contribution to landfills by using reusable grocery bags, purchasing items with less packaging, and recycling as much as possible, composting may be the key to significantly reducing the amount of waste you toss away.

Our food, the unprocessed stuff, is supposed to decompose in the soil, where all kinds of insects, beetles, and worms will eat it up, returning nutrients to the soil and enhancing its quality. The finished product is nutrient-rich soil that your houseplants or garden will adore.

Another advantage of composting is that it makes your trash less smelly – if you compost all of your food waste, there will be no decaying stuff in your rubbish can. Finally, composting helps to limit the production of common greenhouse gases and the usage of chemical fertilizers. Starting a compost not only reduces waste transported to landfills but also helps reduce methane gas emissions and reduces dependency on chemical fertilizers, which saves money.

How Does Composting Work?

Compost is composed of organic elements that decompose in the soil, improving its structure and providing important nutrients. To further comprehend the composting process, consider the natural decomposition process shown in nature. Composting simply accelerates the decomposition process by creating an optimal habitat for bacteria, fungi, and other decomposing organisms to perform their work. For example, woodland environments are densely packed with organic things such as trees and leaves. These materials gradually degrade or break down over time with the aid of microorganisms and earthworms. When the materials decompose, they produce humus, which is a vital component in the formation of rich, fertile soil and is also responsible for the production of healthy plants.

What do I need to start a compost pile?

To keep your compost confined, you’ll need a compost container or a specified space. This is a crucial consideration, and whether you choose a composting bin or a typical compost heap is entirely up to you.

A compost bin is just a container that holds biodegradable items as they decompose. A compost heap is, as the name implies, a pile of biodegradable waste that is generally covered with card or plastic sheets and insulated with straw.

It is critical to select the ideal location for your composting site. The construction of the bin can be made of almost anything; however, you should not set your compost immediately on top of concrete or plastic; instead, place your compost pile directly on the ground and in the shade to keep it from drying out. It’s recommended not to place your compost heap or container in an area that experiences frequent temperature and moisture variations. This is due to the fact that the microorganisms that convert the garbage into compost need consistent conditions. Simply put, you want your compost to come into contact with the soil so that worms may enter and aid in the composting process. Many people believe that they should place the compost as far away from their home as possible, but in reality, it is definitely beneficial to have it close and accessible so that it may be easily tended.

The Green and Brown Materials Ratio Is the Key to a Healthy Compost Pile

The majority of compost is composed of organic materials such as leaves, garden plants, newspaper, straw, grass clippings, manure, and kitchen trash. Kitchen garbage should comprise vegetable and fruit peelings, eggshells, coffee grounds, and so on. Meat, fat, and bone items should never be composted since they might bring dangerous parasites and attract animals. 

The compost is made of brown and green materials. Green materials such as grass clippings and kitchen waste, green leaves contribute nitrogen to the compost. While brown materials such as branches, stems, dried leaves, wood ash, shredded brown paper bags, corn stalks, coffee filters, coffee grounds, egg shells, and straws add carbon to compost containers.

A good compost pile should have significantly more carbon than nitrogen. Use one-third green and two-thirds brown components as a basic rule. The brown materials’ bulkiness helps oxygen to permeate and nourish the creatures that live there. Too much nitrogen results in a thick, stinky, and slowly disintegrating anaerobic mass. Covering new nitrogen-rich material, which might emit aromas if exposed to open air, with carbon-rich material, which frequently radiates a fresh, beautiful scent, is good composting hygiene. That being said, depending on what you put in it, you may need to alter your pile slightly. Some green materials have more nitrogen than others, whereas some brown ones include more carbon.

A proper mixture of green and brown elements will guarantee that your compost pile functions effectively. Your compost pile may not heat up, may take longer to break down into usable compost, and may even begin to smell awful if you do not keep an appropriate ratio of brown and green components.

The most common composting error is failing to maintain a balance of green and brown waste. An abundance of green material – food scraps, green leaves, grass clippings — will not decompose correctly. Too much brown trash, such as newspaper and brown paper, brown leaves, branches, and twigs, further slows down the process.

Get started

Starting a compost heap or installing a compost bin is not as tough or complex as you may believe. Your garden will profit from rich, ecologically friendly compost in a relatively short period of time. A compost pile may be placed almost anywhere in your yard. Don’t worry if you live in a town or city; you may make a tiny compost bucket on your deck or patio, or even indoors.

If you’re using a container for your compost, you may layer the things to a depth of approximately 12 inches, then replace the lid and return it anytime you have new materials to add to it. Covering your compost will assist since it will keep heat and moisture in. Also, give it a good stir occasionally – oxygen is a necessary component of any compost pile or bin.

Keep a watch out for rats in your compost, but if you avoid cooked meals and the other goods mentioned, you should be OK. Turn the mound with a pitchfork or shovel every few weeks. This helps to aerate the material. The process requires oxygen to function, therefore rotating “adds” oxygen. If you have a ready supply of coarse material, such as straw, you may omit this step. After you’ve constructed your compost pile, mix in additional items rather than piling them in layers. Turning or mixing the compost pile is essential for aerating the composting ingredients and speeding up the composting process.

If your compost becomes too dry, softly water it.  On the other hand, you don’t want your compost to be too moist because a damp pile will smell and take longer to decompose. Again, balance is essential here, and it may take some trial and error to get it right. If you’re adding anything dry, like egg shells, dried leaves, pine needles, or cardboard, make sure to add some water. You don’t want to drown the pile, but it won’t work until some moisture is provided.

Compost ‘activators’ can be applied to aid in jump-starting decomposition and accelerate composting. Comfrey leaves, grass clippings, young weeds, and well-rotted chicken dung are all common compost activators.

The compost pile naturally attracts little fruit flies. Cover any exposed fruit or vegetable stuff to discourage them. Keep a small mound of grass clippings next to your compost container, and cover new kitchen trash with one or two inches of clippings. Adding lime or calcium will also discourage flies.

Grab a handful of compost and examine it to ensure that it is ready to use. There may also be woody or fibrous fragments in your pile, depending on what you add. However, there should be nothing identifiable, such as entire peelings or leaves. A few avocado pits or corncobs are typical because they take longer to decompose. Remove them from your completed compost and return them to the pile to continue decomposing. A wonderfully aromatic and loamy scent, reminiscent of a rainy day in the woods. Ammonia traces or sour odors suggest that your compost needs more time to grow. A deep, rich color makes them “black gold” for the soil.

When mature, your compost pile will be roughly one-third of its initial size. When your compost is finished, you may use it as fertilizer on plants, in your yard, garden, lawn, or on your houseplants. Compost-as-mulch is an excellent approach to increasing the yield of your garden. Compost, which is naturally absorbent and thick, will reduce evaporation when spread over drip irrigation or after watering. Weeds will also be prevented from growing. To fertilize your lawn, just apply a 1- on a 3-inch layer of compost to the grass and rake it evenly. Rainwater will effectively drive the compost into the soil, fertilizing your lawn in the process. If you have enough compost, your neighbors can use it for their gardens, plants, or lawns as well. Depending on the quality and your area, you might even be able to sell it.