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If oxygen can’t get to the pile, the anaerobic parts will start to build up too much nitrogen and stink or it will stop composting if the nitrogen is used up. With an outdoor compost bin, you get the choice of either hot or cold composting while keeping the heap contained. This will generally look nicer on your property, but it comes with the added cost of purchasing a bin or putting in the work to build one yourself. If you're hot composting, it can also be challenging to mix all the organic matter in a contained space rather than as a heap.
If you have space in your garage or on a covered patio, a compost tumbler can work well. If you need to compost inside your home, a worm composter does the job with little disruption. You can contain your pile using a circle of page wire or a plastic composting bin or you can leave it open. The system you choose depends on how much time and money you want to invest. An open pile is the least expensive and easiest way to start, though it can attract pests in some locations. When composting, it’s essential that you only use compostable materials.
Options for Composting at Home
When it comes to home composting, a cold compost pile is one of the easiest ways to compost. It essentially boils down to you throwing a bunch of organic waste in a pile and waiting for the magic to happen. There is a bit more to it than that, but it's a mostly hands-off process, especially compared to most other home composting methods. While most of the moisture in your compost pile should come from rain, you may need to water it occasionally to help keep it moist. If the pile becomes soggy, you can add extra brown materials or turn it more frequently to remove excess moisture.
A backyard pile, if well maintained, can reach temperatures of 130° to 160° F. High temperatures help reduce the presence of pathogens and weed seeds. Compost City - Rebecca Louie’s book Compost City is an absolute must-have for any city dweller interested in decomposing their food waste. As we’ve proven above, you don’t need a large property to dispose of food scraps or make your own compost. Do you need an affordable indoor bin that can carry over 2 gallons worth of food scraps?
Bokashi bin
They also come with the added benefit of a regular egg supply. Regarding the composting process, chickens can help in multiple ways. If you want a compost pile, chickens will turn that pile for you. Of course, you could just skip the pile altogether and feed your kitchen scraps to your chickens. They'll turn all those scraps into nutrient-rich manure for your garden.
Too much sun can dry the pile out, while too much shade can keep it overly wet. Finally, choose a site that is easy for you to get to and avoid areas near dogs or other meat-eating animals. You can start a compost pile any time of the year, but fall is the time of year when both nitrogen and carbon materials are readily available. With heap composting, there are no structures required, though you may use a compost bin if desired. Keep in mind that a compost heap or pile may not appear as neat and tidy as using a bin, but it is still one of the best options for newbies. You can also camouflage a compost pile with tall flowering plants or fencing.
What Not to Compost From the Kitchen
Make compost tea using composted yard waste (leaves, grass clippings, etc.) or vermicompost . It is low in a wide range of nutrients and good for fertilizing seedlings and transplants. When adding browns and greens to your pile, add at least two to three times the volume of browns to the volume of greens . Always ensure your food scraps are covered by four to eight inches of dry leaves or other browns.
Once your food scraps have piled up, you can drop them off at a composting center. You can also contact local farms or community gardens, which may accept compost. You can also brew your own compost tea by steeping a small amount of compost in water for 24–48 hours. Then, strain the mixture and spray it onto plants to supply beneficial nutrients and enhance the growth of your garden. When it’s ready to use, your compost should appear dark brown and crumbly, similar to soil.
Watering and Turning the Compost
Instead, you have a pile of rich, dark brown, earthy-smelling, crumbly substance that looks a lot like the ground below the leaves of the forest floor. When you get your compost recipe just right, your microorganisms will emit so much energy that they’ll increase the temperature of your compost significantly. Your compost pile could emit heat as high as 160º F (71º C)! Think of it like a giant party where everyone steams up the windows. And all that heat speeds up the composting process, which is exactly what nature wants. One reason you may be growing your own food is to avoid any toxic chemicals of industrial agriculture.
Now that you’re in the know about some of the most common composting methods, let’s explore a few popular compost bins for effortless home composting. All of these bins have their own unique advantages that make them a great addition to your household or backyard. Food scrap and yard waste may be the largest percent of your compost material — you can include a lot of items from your kitchen and garden. But other household items, like newspaper and hair, are also fine to add to the mix.
Wood should be rot resistant or pressure treated with a wood preservative. Avoid timbers treated with creosote or pentachlorophenol. The intention is that you'll move the compost from one bin to the next as the compost develops. This is a great system for people who could use a lot of compost regularly, but it's also a lot of hard work.
Not only is digging through your compost to remove items unpleasant but forgetting to take something out undermines the progress of your compost bin. Generally, you can add compost to your garden soil at any time, it is nearly impossible to overdo it with compost. However, it’s best used when plant and leaf growth is most rapid. Add some to your soil in early spring before planting.
Applying it to the soil around plants or spraying it on foliage applies beneficial microbes that could suppress the colonization of disease-causing fungi. Compost tea also contains small amounts of organic nutrients necessary to the health of plants. It encourages earthworm activity and will enhance the population of soil microbes. Use it to make compost tea, which has multiple benefits to plants and soil. Grow vegetable and flower transplants and container plants in screened compost. Try a mixture of 50% compost and 50% commercial soilless growing media.
The compost should be dark brown and should not resemble the original materials. Let the pile sit for two weeks, allowing the mesophiles to finish it off. This is known as curing and will help stabilize the nutrients.
An active compost pile necessitates a lot of effort and energy. There’s actually a very important divide between different types of compostable waste. Green items are quite high in nitrogen while brown items are high in carbon. Finding the right balance between brown and green items in your pile is key to creating successful compost.
Meat and fish, bones, dairy products, oil, butter, shortening, and even olive oil are not permitted. You can keep raccoons at bay by using chicken wire or fencing around your garbage can. Examples of yard waste that include grass clippings and weeds are perfect for tossing into your compost heap. As green materials, they add nitrogen to the pile and contribute to the moisture level inside the compost. Making compost bins is easy – it’s not as daunting as it may seem.
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