Composting is essential to provide your plants with the nutrients they need. Composts contain organic matter that is necessary for the growth of your plants. Making a compost is not difficult. You will only need some nitrogen, carbon, air, and water. These elements are usually found in kitchen and yard waste. Once you have these ingredients, read the following steps to learn how to make a compost.
1. Buy A Compost Bin
You can buy a compost bin from the store or you can transform a plastic container into a compost bin. You can also build a wooden box and use it as a compost bin.
2. Establish A Bottom Layer
First of all, you should dig some holes at the bottom of your compost bin. You need to make sure that your compost bin has a proper drainage aeration. Second, start filling the bottom of the container with a layer of twigs, feeble sticks, and other straw-like substances. This bottom layer should be at least 5 inches which are equivalent to 10 centimeters.
3. Fill Your Compost Bin
A good compost should be rich in nitrogen, therefore, you should fill the compost bin with nitrogenous compounds such as cut grass, raw peelings from vegetables, coffee grounds, diluted urine, manure, and weeds. Besides nitrogen, your compost should contain carbon compounds. You can find carbon in cardboards, dead leaves, cereal boxes, hedge clippings, and brown pruning.
4. Inspect The Compost Heap After Three Days
The decomposition process usually starts after three days. When the pile in your container starts to be hot, this means that the ingredients that you have compounded together have started to decompose. You should wait until the pile has a cool feel to mix it. This may take days sometimes. It depends on the ingredients you have used.
- You should not mix the pile when it still has a hot feel.
5. Mix The Contents Of The Garden Compost
As soon as the pile has a cool feel, you can start mixing it in the container. Mixing the pile will add oxygen to it which will boost the decomposition process and make your compost richer in nutrients. You should also add some water to your compost pile if it is dry. Keep doing the same process for at least 6 weeks.
6. Check If The Compost Is Ready
It is simple to know whether your compost is ready or not. You can actually tell for its color and smell. If it is dark brown and smells like earth, then your compost is ready to enrich your garden soil.
7. Conclusion
Organic fertilizers are expensive and sometimes they are not effective. Thus, making your own compost is highly recommended. It is one of the most inexpensive and effective ways to promote the growth and the productivity of your plants.
These are the best steps to learn how to make a compost. Follow these steps and you will have a rich, nutritious and above all inexpensive compost. Besides, homemade composts are very strong. Don’t forget to share this information with your fellow gardeners, it will help them.