What are the Benefits of Composting?
By creating your own compost you’re not only creating nutrient rich soil for your plants but also contributing to the environment. You can enjoy the benefits of recycling by taking your household waste and turning it into something useful. Reduce the amount of rubbish piling up in the landfills and turn your garbage into gold with a simple system.
What Do I Need to Start Making Compost at Home?
There are various methods for creating your own compost but for those of us with limited space or no garden, the ideal option is compost bins. These can be purchased from hardware stores or garden centres and they come in a variety of sizes to suit individual needs. A basic compost bin is the more affordable option, though you may find the decomposition process in these somewhat slower. To speed up the process you could invest in a compost tumbler, however these do tend to be more expensive.
What to Compost?
It’s important that you put the right ingredients into your compost to ensure the best results. Here is a guide to get you started:
- Kitchen scraps – Things like vegetable peelings and tea bags are all fine to use in your compost. Just be sure not to add any meat or dairy products.
- Household Dust – The contents from your vacuum cleaner or dustpan and brush contain organic matter that will enhance your compost
- Grass – Grass cuttings are good for the pile
- Weeds – Put those pesky weeds to good use and make compost out of them! Be sure to avoid any with seed heads and say no to pernicious weeds
- Manure – You can use manure from sheep, chickens and horses
- Soft Prunings – Make sure these are chopped up to ensure that they decompose more quickly
- Seaweed – Rinse any salt off before adding this to this mix
- Dead Leaves – Dead leaves will decompose quickly
- Straw – Straw is a good addition
- Old Plants – It’s the plant that just keeps giving. It might be dead but it can continue to contribute to your garden by adding to the compost
- Newspaper, Paper & Cardboard – Make sure this is shredded in order to assist with quick decomposition
- Hard Prunings – As with soft prunings, these need to be chopped up
- Wood Chips – If you have any laying around then go ahead and chuck them in
- Hair & Fur – All of this will contribute to your compost heap
- Feathers – You might not have any chickens to hand but maybe the pillow has some to offer
What Not to Compost?
If putting the right ingredients in is important then it’s equally crucial to leave certain items out. So here’s an idea of what you shouldn’t put in your compost:
- Cat & dog poo
- Human faeces
- Meat & Bone
- Fatty Foods
- Dairy Products
- Diseased Plants
- Pernicious Weeds
- Coal or Charcoal
- Treated Wood
How to Compost
So you’ve got your compost bin, you’ve got some things to throw in, what now?
When you add to your compost bin you want to be sure to pile your materials fairly loosely. The compost will need air to assist in the decomposition and if you cram it all in too tightly then the air won’t have room to flow. With this in mind it’s an idea to have your compost bin raised off the ground and if necessary poke in extra air holes to increase aeration. You should also try to turn your compost on a regular basis as this will also help the air to move around.
To ensure a good carbon/nitrogen ratio you should try and alternate between layers of green and brown material. This will help to create a balance in your compost.
Worms and other creepy crawlies will assist in the decomposition of your compost and the more there are the better. Compost by nature should attract worms but if your compost bin is on a balcony or patio this might not happen. If this is the case then you can go in search of your own worms and just toss them in.
You’ll want to add a bit of water to the compost in order to keep the mixture nice and moist. It doesn’t want to be sopping wet but you don’t want it to be dry either.
Where Should I Put My Compost Bin?
If you have limited space then it’s likely you won’t have much choice about where to place your compost bin. It doesn’t really matter but if it’s kept in the shade then it will be less likely to dry out on warm and sunny days.
How Will I Know When My Compost is Ready?
Compost does take time to become the nutrient rich soil your plants want it to be and you’ll have to be patient. Each individual compost bin, compost heap, compost pile will be different. What you’re looking for is compost that is a rich, dark brown colour, moist and crumbly. You’ll notice your worms start to move out and your compost particles will be mostly the same size. It should have a nice earthy smell and not resemble any of what you originally put into it.
Compact Composting
It’s really easy to create your own compost even in the smallest of spaces. You can reuse household waste that would normally get thrown in the bin and create compost your plants will benefit from.
Sources:
- Thompson, Ken. “Compost”. 2007
- Cromwell,Cathy. “Composting for Dummies”. 2010
- Heywood, Victoria. “Composting: From Organic Waste to Black Gold”. 2005
Sarah Williams - Sarah Williams is originally from the South West of England but now lives in the Illawarra region of Australia. She is a freelance writer, ...
Join the Conversation