Guide to Easy Backyard Composting
Setting up a composter in your backyard is easy. And in addition to reducing landfill waste in your local community, it's a great way to create rich fertilizer for your garden.
The Benefits of Compost
Compost provides many benefits, both environmental and economic, which
is why it's often referred to as black gold. Compost is a rich,
beneficial form of fertilizer that you can make yourself by using waste
from your kitchen and yard. You can spread compost as a fertilizer for
your garden, flower beds, around trees, and even on top of your lawn.
Composting is nature’s way of recycling, by returning valuable organic
matter and nutrients to the soil to be used again. Using compost for
your gardens saves you from having to purchase fertilizers, or it can be
mixed in with bought fertilizers to reduce how much needs to be
purchased. And because compost improves the drainage and moisture
absorption of your soil, the ground will retain fertilizers or
pesticides for longer periods. Plus you will not need to water as
frequently, as compost can retain 100% of its weight in water. And
further, if you pay for street-side garbage removal by volume, making
your own compost can also save you money by reducing the amount of
garbage you produce (for some households up to 33%).
Composting also helps reduce your carbon footprint. By not throwing
away organic materials, it reduces the production of methane gas coming
from garbage landfills. And from a carbon standpoint, methane is a
greenhouse gas that is 21 times more potent at heat-trapping capacity
than carbon dioxide. Organic material such as food, yard debris, and
soiled paper can make up nearly 60% of what some households send to
landfills.
How-to-guide:
A composting system can be easily set up in your yard. First, you will
want to pick a good location. The best spot is where your composter
will receive plenty of sunshine. A composter “cooks” the organic
materials, so locating the pile in the sunshine will help speed up the
composting process (helpful accessory: compost tumblers).
Once you determine a good location, you will need to determine what you
are going to compost in. Although you can just create a compost pile,
most people opt for a composting bin, which you can either build
yourself or purchase ready-made. The minimum recommended size for an
effective composter is 3’ x 3’ x 3’.
To achieve optimal results, it is important to learn what is best to
include in your compost pile, and what is best to keep out. Following
the right “recipe” will help your composter to avoid producing foul
odors, and to produce quicker results.
One of the key principles of effective composting is maintaining the
proper ratio between carbon (brown materials) and nitrogen (green
materials) added to your composter. For best results, add browns and
greens at a 30:1 ratio.
You should be careful to avoid adding pet waste or diseased plants from
your garden, as these may contaminate your compost with diseases. Also
avoid adding materials that may contain toxins, such as colored paper,
synthetic chemicals or coal ash. You should also consider avoiding
adding meat, bones, fish, fats or dairy items, as these can cause you to
have a foul-smelling composter.
Once you’ve got your compost pile up and running it is fairly simple to
maintain. The main maintenance task associated with a composter is
turning or mixing the pile regularly (at least twice a month). This
helps mix the contents to facilitate the “cooking” process, and also
serves to aerate the pile. When turning the pile also check its moisture
content, and if any part seems dry, add some water to the pile.
Finally, try to shred the items that you add to the pile, and give big
“meals” rather than small ones when you add material to your composter.
Done correctly, composting is good for the environment, your garden & lawn, and your wallet.
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