Organic Composting

Organic Composting at Home

Organic composting is nature’s way of recycling. Composting has 4 main benefits;

Composting helps in conserving resources

  • Water – composting soaks up water and releases it slowly to plants. This way, if you have plants around your compost then you won’t need to water as much. Furthermore, compost when used as manure, has some of the advantages of mulching; it prevents the water beneath from evaporating.
  • Organic composting at home spares you the agony of having to transport manure to your farms. Organic composts contain a lot of water and are thus very heavy, when they are prepared and used within the farm, you will save on fuel and energy.

Compost with Cat

Composting reduces waste

Statistics show that organic waste makes up between 25% and 50% of waste that people throw away. It is never possible to recycle all organic waste, however, composting gives you the chance to significantly cut down on the trash.

Benefits to plants and gardens

Composts increase organic matter in the soil, improve aeration and drainage in clay soils, helps to balance the PH of soil, moderates soil temperature and play a part in controlling soil erosion. Compost also improves water retention in sandy soils and help plants absorb nutrients already in the soil, that is not to mention that compost also adds a number of nutrients to the soil.

Save on costs

When you use compost manure, your need for water, fertilizers and pesticides are significantly reduced. It is a low-cost alternative to standard land filling cover and a less costly alternative to cleaning (re-mediating) contaminated soil.

How to make your own compost

  • The first step is to identify a site for the compost bin. The selected spot should be a warm area over the grass or soil with good drainage.
  • Next up, you are required to buy a compost bin or make one; compost bins can easily be made from wooden pellets or used timber. Alternatively, you can build the heap and cover it with black polythene or a carpet.
  • When building the heap:
    1. Start with a layer of bark or dry grass.
    2. Secondly, add any soft green material; this provides the compost with nitrogen.
    3. Take care of the compost aeration
    4. The moisture level of the compost has to be kept at a fairly constant level; you can always add small quantities of water or leafy material to raise the moisture levels.
    5. Use as many ingredients as possible; however, ensure that the compost is not too compact.
    6. Turn the heap at regular intervals to mix the contents. This also improves air circulation.

Composts take a few months to a whole year before they are ready.

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