There is usually a space mapped out in many homes, typically outside for the growing of plants and other creations. Some people believe that adding compost to your garden at home is complex, the foul smell and the dirt it brings along with it. It is only the truth if you don’t know the proper way to make quality compost.
Fortunately, making a good refuse heap is not as tricky as said. You have to mix organic material with a certain amount of soil to form the best soil, humus, or black soil. Right after this, it is good to add the mixture to your garden.
It enriches your lawn and improves the germination of vegetables and other crops. You can check here https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/lawn-care/lgen/tips-for-improving-the-lawn-and-reducing-maintenance.htm for more ways to improve your lawn this season.
As soon as you make your refuse heap, you will notice the importance of your kitchen waste and other living material in improving your garden.
What is Compost?
Refuse heap is the decay of soil living minerals. Many gardeners describe compost as black gold. It is because it has so many advantages to the garden soil. A compost heap is a significant constituent of the garden soil. Good refuse heap consists of leaves, kitchen waste, and shredded stems gotten from plants.
When you add humus to clay soil, it makes them simpler to till and grow plants. Adding compost to sand soil helps increase its water holding capacity. Also, when you mix manure with the earth, it refines the soil for adequate performance. Composting is a suitable way in converting leaves and kitchen waste into food for your soil.
Rather than pay money to people to clear your waste, you can use the trash to enrich your garden for better crop yield. If you decide to apply compost on your farm, you should be able to tell the different forms of composting.
Forms of Composting
Before gathering those leaves and kitchen waste, acknowledge the two types of composting; hot and cold manuring. Cold manuring is simply picking kitchen waste like fruits and vegetable peels, eggshells, yam peels and then enclosing them in a bin.
It would remain there for a year for proper decomposition. Hot manuring needs your involvement compared to cold composting.
However, it provides a quicker result compared to the time taken for cold manure to decay. You need four major constituents for faster decomposition: water, carbon, azote, and air. These compounds help in the fastening decomposition of organic minerals.
There is also another form of composting that requires the introduction of worms to make decomposition rapid. It is called vermicomposting. You can check the best worm composter for making the process a lot easier.
What to Compost
Manuring is the best way to use your kitchen waste; you need to drop a bin in the kitchen to gather all these refuse heap materials. You can get your manure heap within two to three months during the warm period.
Bring together the following materials if you plan on composting, they are; fruit remnants, vegetable remnants, eggshells, grass and plant waste, withered leaves, shredded papers, sawdust from fresh wood etc.
Gardening Tips
Have a second thought before you mix orange peels, onions, and garlic to your manure heap. These substances drive away worms that are beneficial in soil aeration.
What You Should Not Compost
These materials bring about a foul smell in your garden; they also attract preys that can cause damage to your crop yield. Please do not mix them to your compost, and they include; unwanted plants that have seeds, dog waste, sawdust from dry wood, buttery products, whatever that has meat, fats, or grease content, etc. This page has more on what to include in your composter.
How to Prepare Compost
There are four vital stages you must take if you decide to make hot compost. They are;
Stage One
Before you decide to make your refuse heap, you need to acquire compost materials that are 3 feet in depth. You would have to mix your fresh green materials with the dry cloth. The dry materials consist of fallen leaves, ripped tree branches, cardboard, wood dust, and hay, and they provide carbon to enhance decomposition.
In contrast, the fresh green materials are kitchen waste, animal dung, and wet plants vital for nitrogen production. If you seek adequate results, you should turn three heaps of fresh material and one heap of dry materials.
However, after turning and your refuse waste is still wet and smelly, you can mix it with more dry materials or leave it open. But if it is dry, you add more green material and pour little water.
Stage Two
Add water to the heap systematically, so it appears moist. But don’t add water in excess; excess water makes the soil waterlogged, leading to the death of microorganisms that enhances decomposition. Regulate the temperature of your heap and ensure the materials adequately decay.
Better still, you can feel the temperature of the stack by dipping your finger in the middle of the pile. It should have a warm feeling.
Stage Three
Over the growing period, it would be helpful if you turn the heap at least once every week using a garden fork. It provides oxygen to your pile, which enhances decomposition. It would be best to stir the compost heap when the middle is warm or at a temperature range of 130 to 150F.
Turning it would make it mix properly and eliminate odor. When you have the same amount of dry and fresh materials, you know your compost is almost ready, so turn properly for quality composting.
Stage Four
While the refuse heap stops producing heat and becomes withered, brown, and brittle, it means the compost heap is ready for use in the garden. Put 4 to 6 inches of manure into your crop bed and your containers at the start of the planting year. Gardeners obtain compost tea from ready-made compost.
It requires soaking the refuse heap in water for some days and then sieves it to make liquid manure.
Take Away
It is left to you to make the final decision if it’s hot, cold, or vermicomposting manuring you plan to use in your garden. Hot composting is an odor-free method and also easy to make. With what we discussed today, it would be helpful to know the right approach to take when you seek to add compost to your garden.