Composting can be easily defined as the way to naturally reuse/ recycle organic matter.
Types Of Composting
Before we start you must know about the types of composting and which one can be beneficial for you.
Cold composting: is easy and it involves collecting yard waste or taking out the organic material from your trash (fruits, vegetable peels, eggshells etc) and then corralling them in a pile or bin. over a year or so the material will decompose.
Hot compost :Hot composting is difficult but a faster process and you can get your compost in 3-4 months during warm weather. It requires 4 ingredients nitrogen, carbon, air, and water. Together, these items feed microorganisms, which speed up the process of decay.
LET’S BEGIN!
Cold composting/ no fuss composting
If you feel as if composting is a very tiresome process, then you must consider cold composting. It isn’t as fast and as labor- intensive like hot composting, but as experts say “composting happens”.
(When I read about this composting method, my lazy inner person was screaming with happiness)
This is the simplest composting process and needs little work from the gardener. Just imagine throwing all the ingredients into a dryer, and then ta-da! You’ve got this amazing compost in 6-12 months which didn’t even require any effort.
Hey, I am composting friendly!
The following items can be added in a composting pile!
- Coffee grounds and loose tea or compostable tea bags (note that most tea bags are not fully compostable so tear them before adding to compost)
- Dry goods (crackers, flour, spices)
- Eggshells
- Hair
- Nutshells
- Pasta (cooked or uncooked)
- Seaweed
- Shredded paper/newspaper
TIP- What personally I do is, I keep a container in my kitchen separately for all the composting friendly items! This way it makes it easier for to me collect them.
DON’T ADD ME!
These items will not only work well in your garden but also can make your compost smell which can attract pests and animals. Avoid these items for a successful compost
s for a successful compost
- Anything containing meat, oil, fat, or grease
- Diseased plant materials
The process!
- Collect all the compost- friendly items.
- Mix the moist green parts ( fruits, vegetables and grass ) into the dryer material to avoid attracting pest
Or
- Burry kitchen scraps in the centre of the pile.
- Allow your pile to sit for minimum 3 months and then turn it weekly (if you want to) as it will speed up the process by some weeks
- To know if your compost is ready or not look for worms as a sign.
Keep in mind!! A cold pile may never even hit 90°F. So if its becoming hot then it means you are doing something wrong!
Hot composting/ active compost
Hot composting requires comparatively more effort and space, and I’m too lazy personally to follow this process, but I’m sure all of you plant lovers will be totally up to it as it produces the compost in a shorter amount of time! And guess what, it even kills plant disease and weed seeds (what else do we want!!!?)
I CAN BE ADDED IN THE PILE!
The following items can be used for hot composting.
Brown material includes:
- Wood chips
- Leaves
- Shredded newspaper and cardboard
- Peanut shells
- Fruit scraps
- Corn stalks
Green material includes:
- Fish
- Grass clippings
- Food waste (such as vegetable scraps)
- Coffee grounds
DO NOT ADD ME!
The following items should not be added in the composting bin
- Anything containing meat, oil, fat, or grease
- Diseased plant materials
- Sawdust or chips from pressure-treated wood
- Dog or cat feces
- Weeds
- Dairy products
Let’s start!
Step one : combine
- To make your own hot compost heap, you must collect materials to make a pile at least 3 feet deep.
- Now you must combine brown material ( fallen leaves; shredded tree branches, cardboard, or newspaper; hay or straw; and wood shavings) and the green material ( kitchen scraps and coffee grounds, animal manures).
- For best results build your compost pile by mixing three parts brown with one part green materials.
- When your compost pile looks too wet and smells, add more brown items or aerate more often. If it looks extremely brown and dry, add green items and water to make it slightly moist.
Step two : water
- Don’t forget to sprinkle your pile with water regularly.
- Don’t add too much water, otherwise, the microorganisms will become waterlogged and drown. In this situation, your pile will rot instead of becoming a compost.
- Also constantly monitor the temperature of your pile to ensure that the materials are properly decomposing
- You can do this by simply reaching into the middle of the pile with your hand. Your compost pile should feel warm.
Step three : stir
- During the growing season, you must provide the pile with oxygen by moving it once a week with a garden fork.
- The best time to do this is when the center of the pile feels warm.
- Stirring up the pile will help the compost to become ready faster and would prevent developing an odour.
Tip – In addition to aerating regularly, chop raw ingredients into smaller sizes to speed up the composting process.
Step four : ready!!
- If your compost no longer gives heat and becomes dry and brown, it’s fully made and is ready to be used.
- Add about 4-6 inches of compost to your flower beds and into your pots.
- Some people make what’s known as compost tea with some of the finished compost.
- You can make one by allowing the fully formed compost to “steep” in water for several days, then straining it to use as a homemade liquid fertilizer.
I personally hope that the above mentioned information was useful for you and your garden! If it did help your plants feel free to share your garden pictures with us!!❤️
