A healthy home composting routine leads to a thriving garden.
There’s many misconceptions when it comes to home composting.
Have you always thought that it's too complicated, it'll smell funny, or it’ll be just way too messy? This may be the case if you compost the wrong way, but if you get it right, the process is actually pretty simple.
But that’s why we’re here, to make sure you’re doing it right!
Types of composting
There are two types of composting; cold and hot.
Cold composting is the simple process of piling up your kitchen scraps and yard waste, then putting them in a bin. Over time, they will decompose.
Hot composting requires you to take a more active role, but the return is that it's a faster process; you'll get compost in one to three months during warm weather. Four ingredients are required for fast-cooking hot compost: Nitrogen, carbon, air, and water. Together, these items feed microorganisms, which speed up the process of decay.
What to compost
Reduce your food waste by putting your scraps back into the ground, and in turn, help your garden thrive!
Collect these materials to start off your compost pile right:
Fruit scraps
Vegetable scraps
Coffee grounds
Eggshells (though they can take a while to break down)
Grass and plant clippings
Dry leaves
Finely chopped wood and bark chips
Shredded newspaper
Straw
Sawdust from untreated wood
Looking after your compost
There’s a few things you should do once you’ve started your compost heap to keep it healthy and smelling as fresh as can be!
Throw in some ‘brown’ materials to add carbon, including dried leaves, newspaper, shredded tree branches, hay or straw. "Green" materials include kitchen scraps and coffee grounds, animal manures (not from dogs or cats), and fresh plant and grass trimming, which add nitrogen. For best results, start building your compost pile by mixing three parts brown with one part green materials.
Water your pile. Sprinkle water over the pile regularly so it has the consistency of a damp sponge. Don't add too much water, otherwise, the microorganisms in your pile will become waterlogged and drown. If this happens, your pile will rot instead of compost.
Stir up your pile. During the growing season, you should provide the pile with oxygen by turning it once a week. You can use a garden fork, or even a stick you have found lying around.
Feed your garden. When the compost no longer gives off heat and becomes dry, brown, and crumbly, it's fully cooked and ready to feed the garden! Add about 4 to 6 inches of compost to your flower beds and into your pots at the beginning of each planting season. Some gardeners make what's known as compost tea with finished compost. This involves allowing fully formed compost to "steep" in water for several days, then straining it to use as a homemade liquid fertilizer.