How To Make Your Own Super Compost
Making good compost is one of the “magic keys” to keeping your plants healthy and growing well. This short video by Howdini gives you a clear introduction to the process and provides details of the ingredients needed to make your own compost at home.
Many tons of material that could be used for composting are thrown in the trash every day, making up as much around one third of all household waste. It’s literally there for the taking! Collecting your organic waste from the kitchen and garden for composting takes a little effort but it will pay you back by providing a free, nutrient-rich additive for your soil. The more of us that make use of simple “home recycling” techniques like composting, the more waste that can be prevented from going to landfill!
Compost has many uses in the garden. It absorbs water and can prevent the soil from drying out too quickly – this could be the saviour of young plants during a dry spell. It can be used on top of the soil as a mulch to reduce the growth of weeds or mixed into the topsoil as a soil conditioner. Clay soils will benefit by having their structure broken up to allow better drainage and aeration and a sandy soil will be improved by the added moisture retention. On top of the benefits to soil structure, adding a good compost will provide all of the nutrients your plants need.
It is important to know which materials are suitable for composting and which are not. The video here will give you the basic information about this but it is worth finding out more – there are a few unexpected materials that can be recycled in the compost bin too! Here is a page with many of them listed, along with some useful tips: http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html
Pro Tip: Be sure to try and avoid putting the roots of perennial weeds such as dandelions, bindweed or docks in your compost bin – they will continue to grow for many months even in the dark and will re-surface in your garden when you use the compost! If composting is done correctly it will produce heat, which will help to kill any weed seeds that have found their way in and to speed up the composting process. Turning your compost regularly will allow air into the mix to ensure aerobic decomposition and this process eliminates unpleasant smell.
Compost making is a win-win activity, reducing waste and improving your garden at the same time! If you do it well, the results will show year after year in improved resistance to disease and increased production of food crops, flowers and ornamental plants. Let’s compost for victory! It’s nature’s way…
