Tips for Composting Kitchen Scraps
In an everyday household environment there is a constant flow of waste that builds up in the garbage can. A good way to reduce waste while creating incredible nutrients for your garden is to compost your kitchen scraps. Composting is very simple yet highly rewarding, which means anyone can do it. Even though composting is fairly easy, there are some tips to follow in order to ensure the richest nutrients and soil in a compost bin/pile.
Composting For an Enriched Garden
The overall purpose of having a compost bin is to enhance your home garden. Any individual that has an interest in gardening should become very familiar with composting because it can be the key to a naturally healthy garden. A great garden starts with the best soil and if not provided the right nutrients, the plants in your garden may look sick and dull in color.
Have a Compost Bin Inside and Outside
The easiest way to keep efficient compost is to have a small compost bin in the kitchen and a larger compost bin or pile outside near your garden. Every few days, empty the small compost bin into the one outside on your way out the door. Having two bins makes composting your everyday kitchen scraps much less complicated.
Good Things to Add
In order to ensure that your compost provides the most enriched nutrients, it is recommended that certain scraps be added rather than others. Using wholesome organic scrap in your compost will ensure that when decomposed it will provide the best possible nutrients for your soil. Some organic scraps that are highly recommended for a compost bin consist of fruits, vegetables, grass clippings, weeds, leaves, shredded paper, dead flowers, coffee grounds, tea leaves, wood chips, sawdust, eggshells, or dried manure.
Bad Things to Add
Unfortunately there are some materials that may actually harm or alter the effects of a compost bin. Materials such as meat products, fats and bones, diseased plants, poisonous plants, dairy products, chemically treated lumber or sawdust, and human or pet waste can make your decomposed material less nutritious or even harmful to your garden soil. To be sure that your efforts bear results, try to refrain from using harmful materials in a compost bin.
Try to Create an Effective Balance of Materials
Composting will be more effective if there is a good balance of materials in the bin. Too much kitchen waste will sometimes make the compost too slimy or excessively dry. Having the sufficient amount of woody and grassy materials will make the final product much better.
The Ideal Composting Method
There is really no wrong way to compost your waste as long as you are adding wholesome organic materials. The way to make your composted waste work at its full potential is to let it sit in a pile or a bin until it decomposes, the wholesome materials speed up this process as well as keeping the compost material moist. Gardeners will sometimes just bury waste in the garden rather than letting it decompose first. Both methods are better than using fertilizers and chemicals purchased at the store.
When to Add the Composted Waste to Your Garden Soil
After letting the waste compost until it decays it will be ready to be added to the garden soil. You will know when your compost bin is ready because the contents will be very dark in color and decomposed to the point where you cannot recognize what the waste was. Not all of the materials have to be completely decomposed before being added to the soil. Any material that is not finished decomposing will further decompose after it has been buried. When you are sure that your compost is finished, work its contents into the soil of all areas in your garden.
To Start the Next Bin
Once you have decided to add the contents of your first compost bin to you garden, it is highly recommended that you save a small bucketful of the decomposed waste in order to add it to the next pile. Adding already decomposed waste to a freshly started compost bin will help speed up the process overall. Be sure to start your new compost bins with a high amount of kitchen waste. The more waste, the faster the process.
Guest post from Bailey Harris.
