Ten Simple Steps For Home Composting
Are you worried about our planet? Do you like to have a beautiful yard at home? Do you like to save money? If the answer to all of these questions is yes, then you should be composing your fruit and vegetable scraps and yard clippings at home. Composting helps the environment by putting less in our landfills. And it saves you money by not needing to buy fertilizer for your plants in your yard at home.
The following are a few tips to help you get started composting at home:
1) Choose the right location. Ideally, it should be out of sight and close to the kitchen and garden.
2) While a compost that is made inside a bin looks neater and can be managed easily, it can still be made without a bin. Composting can also be done on a single wire column measuring 4 by 8 feet. Ideally, the wire column should be made of wire mesh.
3) You can purchase a more permanent bin to make compost if you do not have the time to make your own compost system. Alternatively, you can also make a three bin compost system from recycled pallets and slatted wood. The bins should be left open on one side to allow for easy piling and turning of materials. If you live in an area that receives rainfall frequently, you should look for a sheet of plywood to cover the bins. The 3-bin system allows you to move compost from one bin to the next and store the end product until you are ready to utilize it.
4) There are two basic elements that are used to make compost. They are brown garden debris (obtained from dried leaves) and green debris (obtained from old annuals and grass clippings). While brown garden debris is rich in carbon, green garden debris are high in nitrogen. Compost that has too many greens will have a foul smell. Organic matter that should not be added to the compost include plants treated with herbicides or pesticides, oils, meats, dairy products, weeds that have already produced seeds, animal waste and diseased plants.
5) Ideally, compost should be fed with materials containing one part green debris for every two parts of brown garden debris. This will increase the rate of decomposition of the compost. Continue adding the recommended organic materials until the compost measures 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet. Piles that have these measurements decompose faster.
6) To jump-start the process, you should add a shovelful of garden soil or finished compost to the pile.
7) An important point to note is that compost requires the right amount of moisture in order to break down. If the compost is too moist, the temperature of the pile can fall below the required temperatures for microbial activity. This can make the compost to produce a foul smell. Therefore, you should check the compost at least once every week to ensure that it has the right moisture content.
Turn the compost once a week to ensure all its contents decompose uniformly.
9) When done properly, compost should be ready for use in two months. You will know your compost is ready when it does not heat up.
10) You can make simple compost in your home by simply piling up grass clippings, leaves and other yard wastes in a secluded area in your garden or yard.
Follow these tips to begin composting in your yard immediately. You’ll help save the planet, make your yard look beautiful, and save a few dollars all at the same time.
Bio:
Pat Lindle is an active environmentalist and green conservationist living in Roswell, Georgia. He utilizes 2 separate composting systems in the metal deck / steel decking company he owns and regularly provides incentives to employees for going green.
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