Gardening
Dishing the dirt on compost
Whether you’re a beginner gardener or a seasoned expert, you’ve probably heard of the concept of composting. But what is compost and why is it beneficial to vegetable gardens and the environment?
We’ll explain what this magical substance is and how you can start making your own compost at home for your backyard garden.
What is Compost?
Compost is decayed organic material that is commonly used as a fertilizer for growing plants. The organic material can be anything from vegetable skins and peels to animal manure to leaves and branches. As the organic material breaks down, it becomes a nutrient-rich substance that is ideal for fertilizing plants and is a natural pesticide for soil.
Why should I compost?
Composting is a great way to recycle and repurpose your kitchen and yard waste instead of sending it all to the landfill. Did you know that a third of all landfill waste is made up of compostable materials? By putting food scraps and organic items into a separate bin to turn into compost, we can help reduce waste in the environment and put it to better use. Whether you like to plant fruits, vegetables, flowers or herbs in your backyard garden, compost is a wonderful tool to help nourish and condition your soil and garden for healthier and stronger plants.
It’s a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers and can help ward off plant diseases. By using compost in your backyard garden, you’re introducing beneficial organisms and nutrients to the soil that improve the overall health and productivity of your garden.
How to make compost at home
It’s super easy to make compost at home! All it takes is a little effort to sort your kitchen and yard waste and a composter. Depending on where you live and how often you think you’ll be turning your compost, there are a few different options. While there are a variety of composting bins and composters to choose from, essentially you have two options when it comes to home composting: collecting compost in a bin, or in an outdoor pile. Unless you live somewhere with a lot of open space and away from people so you aren’t concerned about the smell, it’s likely that you’ll choose to start composting in a bin. You can either make your own bin out of wood, bricks or concrete, or you can buy a compost bin from your local gardening store. To get started with home composting, we must first understand what ingredients are needed for successful compost.
What to compost
At its core, compost consists of four primary ingredients: carbon, nitrogen, water and oxygen. You want approximately an equal ratio of carbon and nitrogen materials, plenty of oxygen to help aerate the compost and enough water to make it moist, but not wet.
1. Carbon Organic Material
Carbon organic materials, or “brown” materials, include items like paper, hay, cardboard, straw, dried grass, dry leaves, cardboard egg cartons and chipped wood. To help you remember what “brown” waste materials are, know that they are typically dry materials. The carbon organic materials feed the organisms that break down the scraps in your compost pile.
2. Nitrogen Organic Material
Nitrogen organic materials, or “green” materials, include items like fruit and vegetable food scraps, grass clippings, green leaves, tea bags, hair, eggshells, coffee grounds and houseplants. To help you remember what “green” waste materials are, know that they are typically moist materials. The nitrogen organic materials are a crucial part of building the cell structure of the new soil.
3. Water
Adding moisture in the form of water helps break everything down. It’s possible that your nitrogen to carbon ratio is moist enough on its own, but the compost consistency should be roughly that of a wrung-out sponge. If you find that your mixture is too dry, add some water to help maintain its moisture level.
4. Oxygen
The key to managing the smell of your compost is having adequate air. Without air and oxygen, your pile will start to rot and smell. Aerating your pile by digging through it is a great tactic, but you can also put paper towel rolls or egg cartons throughout the pile to create pockets of air.
With the right combination of carbon, nitrogen, water and oxygen, your compost should smell like earthy dirt and be dry and crumbly. Heat helps everything decompose quickly, so if you are starting in the middle of summer, you may have results in as little as three months. However, depending on the size of your compost pile and how much the temperature varies, it could take up to a year for your compost pile to be ready to use. You might consider setting up two compost bins – one for ready-to-use compost and one for work- in-progress. For all of your composting and gardening needs, stop by Arboretum today!
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