green gardening – compost

If you’re a gardener then you’ll know that store bought compost or top soil costs a pretty penny and is virtually impossible to find NOT in a plastic bag. Whether you buy a small or large bag those plastic bags soon mount up and waste valuable natural resources and usually the bags end up in the landfill, so why not try composting at home instead? Composting is an extremely eco-friendly activity. Not only is it free to do and easy to maintain but you also get an end result which means less out of pocket costs for your household. Also by composting you’ll find that your trash output is lowered considerably, which is another plus for the environment!

Composting is basically taking all the garden waste, kitchen scraps, newspaper etc and creating an environment in which decomposition takes place via microscopic organisms like yeasts, bacteria, and fungi. There is a saying in the composting world that “compost happens” and truly it just does but to make it happen quicker we should try to provide an ideal environment for maximal decomposition. To do this a compost pile needs carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and water in the right amounts.

• Carbon – carbon materials tend to be brown and dry. Dry fall Leaves are a great example of carbons and this time of year plentiful. Other sources of carbon includes paper and cardboard products, though for maximum effect these should be torn into small piece or shredded before applying to a compost pile.
• Nitrogen – these materials tend to be moist or wet and colorful. Plants, weeds and kitchen scraps are good examples of nitrogen’s. Personally I don’t add invasive weeds or seed pods (or things like crab grass) as these are impossible to get rid off but any other plants, go for it!
• Oxygen – for anything to decompose it needs oxygen, so turning a compost pile is important to ensure that the items in the whole pile get a chance to decompose.
• Water – moist conditions but not too wet. This is probably the most tricky thing for the novice composter, but really too dry is better than too wet. Compost that is too wet will begin to smell and attract critters.

All these things n the right balance will ensure steady decomposition, with no odors. Composting can take anywhere from a couple of months to a year depending on the method, container and conditions. The “problem” lies in the fact that to compost you do need space. Basic composting can be done in a pile or you can ‘fence off’ an area with bricks, old pallets or even purchase a specific composting container. Some city councils run incentive schemes for composting offering composting bins as a subsidized rate so if you are serious about looking into composting check out your local city for details.

Composting is a great way to reduce your trash output, reuse natural resources and it’s great for the garden and especially for growing homegrown vegetables!

dalgal | My Bio & Articles