How to Start Composting by Tim Moore
By Tim Moore
With rising costs in everything on the market today, people are starting to search for natural and organic ways to save money and recycle. Growing your own food is definitely a top ten places to start saving money while adding the benefit of knowing exactly what is in the food you are feeding your family. But what should you use for nutrients to ensure optimal growing without having to pump your produce full of chemicals or worse?
Compost is a great idea that allows a person to recycle food scraps into productive waste as well as help the environment in the process. The general misconception surrounding the idea of composting or starting a compost pile is that compost is messy and will attract unwanted attention from various species from insects to animals. The correct way to compost is to actually use a simplistic approach: layer organic materials with dashes of soil to form a humus compound. Humus is considered one of the best soil builders available, both naturally and store-bought.
The Two Types of Compost
Before starting your own compost pile, it is important to remember that there are two types of composting people partake in and they are Cold Compost and Hot Compost.
Cold Compost
Cold compost consists of organic materials collected from both yard waste and household waste during a yearlong period. Found in this compost could be yard clippings and eggshells, coffee grounds, vegetable peelings and any other decomposable material. Typically stored in a container or bin located outside on your property, this compost can take about a yard to fully decompose.
Hot Compost
Hot compost consists of the same yard and household waste but in a faster process. Used by professional and serious gardeners, you will create compost in the warm summer months. With the use of natural elements; air, water with carbon and nitrogen, microorganisms will be fed the nutrients required for compost production. Hot compost is cooked in specially made containers called composters.
Composters are not necessarily used in just hot compost, but also in cold compost depending on the make and model. To find the best fit for your garden, speak to a representative at a local nursery or consult online with avid gardeners in forums or chat rooms. Informative websites, like backyardboss.net, can also prove beneficial for quick and easy answers to the questions that form during the beginning of a new project.
What to Use in Compost
Many people feel compost consists of anything that is going to the garbage with the exception of cans, glass or cardboard but this is slightly incorrect. While you can’t use the mentioned items in your compost, meats or fats or oils are not recommended either. Dairy products and wood chips from pressure-treated lumber are also not recommended due to the bacteria and chemicals that form once the decomposing process begins. Feces of any source is definitely not recommended and can cause serious bacterial infections from the consumption of produce grown in them.
So what can you use in a compost pile?
How to Start a Compost Pile
Once your compost pile has reached approximately three feet deep, you are ready to start the process of creating a compost pile that can be used in gardening productively and accurately. There are four basic steps to creating a compost pile and they are:
1. Combine wet and dry materials: use your wet, green items to mix with dry, brown items to create a balance of moist materials. Too much of either type will throw the composition of the compost off balance, resulting in a slimy mess with no added benefits. Smaller materials will break down faster, speeding up the cooking process.
2. Water your Pile: Sprinkle, not soak, water over your compost pile in a daily routine to ensure the pile has the consistency of a damp sponge. Soaking the compost pile will result in the microorganisms required for optimal growing to become waterlogged and eventually drown. Use your hand or a thermometer to test the temperature of the compost pile, as it should be room-temperature warm.
3. Stir up your Pile: Provide your compost pile with needed oxygen by sifting through and turning the materials over with a rake or garden fork. The best time to stir the pile of compost is when the temperature is warm or reaches between 130°F and 150°F. The movement of compost will help reduce the odor and reduce the risk of materials becoming matted and weighed down to mush.
4. Feed your Garden: Fully cooked and ready to use compost will be brown and crumbly with a dry texture. Use approximately four to six inches in a flower or vegetable beds and also in pots at the beginning of planting season.
Conclusion
Time and effort are all that is required to make and maintain a productive compost pile. The added nutrients will allow plants to grow to their fullest potential, resulting in lush, vivid gardens alive with color and a vegetable garden to rival the produce section at your local market. A compost-fed garden is a happy garden!
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