Prepare Garden Compost
Compost is created when organic matter decomposes. Organic matter eventually reaches a point where it can no longer decompose; it is at that point that it becomes an extremely nutritious and long-lasting fertilizer. Garden compost can be produced using four very basic ingredients: carbon, nitrogen, air and water. You can gather these ingredients easily by collecting yard and kitchen waste, but waiting for full decomposition is a lengthy process that can take a year or more. Composting requires a number of steps, but the resulting product can be a very useful agricultural tool. Use these steps to make a compost garden.
Steps
- Obtain a compost bin.
- Purchase a pre-made composting container from any number of agricultural suppliers.
- Build your own box using wood. Make sure to place the box on bare soil with no watercourses.
- Create a bottom layer. Fork over the soil at the bottom of the container or box to aerate it and assist in drainage. Pile twigs and other straw-like material at the bottom about 4 inches (10.16 cm) deep.
- Fill your bin.
- Add nitrogen compounds, which are greens. These include cut grass, weeds, raw vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, green prunings, manure and diluted urine.
- Include carbon compounds, which are browns. These include cereal boxes and other cardboard, waste paper, newspaper, hedge clippings and brown prunings, sawdust, wood shavings and old leaves.
- Combine fast-rotting materials, usually greens, with slow-rotting materials, which are usually browns. For example, freshly mown grass clippings should be mixed up with twigs or other wood compounds to prevent an unpleasant smell.
- Add some Bacteria like pseudo monas to catalyze the decomposition and some minerals (macro and micro nutrients) if you wish.
- Cut up your material to make it decompose faster. Twigs and branches should be clipped into small pieces; eggshells should be crushed; cardboard should be shredded.
- Water the heap liberally as you are filling it.
- Check the compost pile after 3 days. Place your hand near the top to determine if it is hot. If it is hot, this is a sign that decomposition has begun. Wait another week, and check the pile again. If it is cool, you can begin to mix it. If it is still hot, wait another week.
- Mix up the matter.
- Use a shovel or garden fork to thoroughly mix the contents of the compost bin. Try to move contents from the bottom to the top and vice versa. This aids in the decomposition rate by adding the last ingredient needed to compost: oxygen.
- Add water if the contents seem dry.
- Continue to mix the matter throughout the next 4 to 6 weeks. Stop once the heap no longer heats up. The compost must be undisturbed in its final stages in order to complete the process.
- Check the bottom of the bin for compost ready for the garden. Determine if the compost is ready by studying it for a dark brown color that smells like earth.
Tips
- Allow fallen leaves to rot in a separate container before adding them to the compost pile. Leaves can take 2 years to decompose, and when they do they are especially nutrient-rich and can be added at that point.
- You can follow the "cool heap" procedure if you wish to add more compost materials periodically. The method above is a "hot heap" method, which consists of adding all materials at once.
Warnings
- Do not add greasy foods or man-made products such as plastic. These will not break down in a compost heap.
- Never compost meat or animal waste. This will attract vermin.
- Avoid adding plant matter from a diseased plant. Some diseases can survive in compost conditions and become unsafe.
Things You'll Need
- Compost bin
- Gardening tools (shears, shovel, fork)
- Shredder
- Green waste
- Brown waste
- Water
