Use yard and food scraps to make compost for your garden.
Learning create your own compost is equivalent to earning a "graduate degree" in organic gardening. Instead of raking garden materials into a bag for the garbage truck, you can use many materials to create your own compost. Table scraps from last night's supper and this morning's breakfast can go into a compost container instead of a garbage can. By creating your own compost, Mother Earth will thank you, and your wallet will thank you, and your plantings will thank you for feeding them with rich, organic nutrients to help them grow and thrive. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. An outdoor pile or frame is easy to turn and tend.
Choose how you will create your outdoor compost bin. This can be as simple as using a metal or plastic garbage can and designating it as your compost pile. On the other hand, you can create an area in your backyard garden space for a compost pile. In that case, you can simply make a pile for compost in the yard or create a wood frame. Both have advantages in that you can easily turn the pile with a pitchfork or shovel to help process natural materials into compost.
2. Designate an indoor garbage can for kitchen scraps to add to the compost pile.
Designate a separate garbage container indoors for kitchen scraps. Use kitchen items such as fish, green vegetables and grainy foods, such as rice and coffee. If you'd like to take the extra step, you can grind foods in a blender, although this step is optional. Avoid greasy foods and those coated and fried, or try rinsing them off. Grease and cooking oils are not organic and degradable and could pose harm to the soil and plantings.
3. Select an outdoor spot for your compost bin. Whether you are using a garbage can or an outdoor frame or pile, make sure that it is located in a spot that will receive as much sunlight as possible. The sun makes the materials decompose, "cook" and transform into compost. A 3-foot-by-3-foot space will suffice for an outdoor bin, according to the Purdue University Extension.
4. Start the first layer for the compost with items from your garden. This can be comprised of leaves from trees, dead or spent flowers and foliage and twigs and branches. Make a base of 3 to 4 inches.
5. Add table and kitchen scraps to the pile. Chop the compost base by using a pitchfork to separate, break and mix the pile. Repeat layering of yard and kitchen scraps to start your compost pile.
6. Water the pile with just enough to moisten the pile. Do not create a sludge or mushy and overwatered pile. Water helps to start the composting process. If you are making the pile in a frame or pile, cover it with black plastic after giving it a slight watering.
7. Turn, chop and mix the base on the second day after you started the pile. Continue chopping and turning every three days. You can also continue adding organic matter to the pile.
8. Include sources of nitrogen to the pile. This is what microorganisms use to break down plant materials. Yard materials that contain high levels of nitrogen include grass clippings and dead leaves. Kitchen scraps include coffee grounds, fruit -- including peels and rinds. You can also sprinkle and mix in commercial fertilizers, bone meal and blood meal. These materials serve as an activator to help supply nitrogen and to advance the composting process. You can also consider purchasing and recruiting earthworms to add to the pile to help with the decomposition process.
9. Your compost will be a blessing for flowers, vegetables and all your plantings.
Examine the pile for signs that it's "cooked" and ready to use. A finished pile will look similar to rich, organic soil. It will be dark, crumbly and you will not be able to distinguish any of the original matter that you used. The actual amount of time the process will take is dependent on weather conditions and Mother Nature's timetable to complete her work of turning your garden and kitchen scraps into compost for your plantings.
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