Dubbed as the "black gold" of soil, compost is a final product of any decomposed organic materials. The process is done with the help of micro-organisms. They break down these materials into simpler substances so that your plants can easily absorb them for use.
Compost are very rich in nutrients . Organic gardeners frequently use them as fertiliser and soil conditioner. Best of all, composting recycles and reduces your home wastes and this helps to create a more sustainable living environment.
I am going to show you the easiest way to create your own home-made compost. You will need basic things like container, unwanted materials, some soil (to jump start the decomposition process) and water.
What to compost?
- Any fruits peels like bananas, oranges, mangoes etc.
- Vegetable scraps like carrot peels, unwanted vegetable leaves, onion and garlic peels etc.
- Stale breads, Stale rice etc.
- Rotten vegetables, fruits etc.
- Coffee grounds, used tea bags, eggshells.
- Tissue papers, shredded papers, cardboards.
- Fallen leaves, wilted flowers, grass cuttings
- Hair, fur, feathers, sawdust
Do not compost :-
- Any meats (this will attract unwanted pests)
- Faeces (this will spread diseases and parasites and also attract harmful pests)
- Plastics materials (they will not decompose)
- Milk, butter, margarine, chemicals, medicine
- Sauces, oils, soaps
The rule is simple for composting. For every green part(materials that break down easily like vegetables, fruits), you must add in 3 parts of brown materials(materials that is dried i.e. papers, sawdust, dried leaves, dried grass etc). In this way the mixture is "balanced". If the compost mixture is not balanced, the compost will smell badly.
Materials needed: Shredded papers(brown materials), leaves and dead plants (green materials)
cutting materials into smaller pieces helps to speed up the decomposition process.
dump in the green materials into a container. You may want to add in some soil to introduce micro-organism. In this example, I am using my existing compost.
dump in the brown materials, in this example I use shredded papers.
Mix the materials thoroughly.
Sprinkle some water into the container. The compost should be damp and not flooded.
A final-product compost ready to be added to plants. A good compost :-
- Is not smelly
- Smells earthy
- Does not attract pests like cockroach, lizards etc.
Things to take note :-
- Water when the compost is dry. Never overwater or flood it as oxygen will not get through it and this will cause the compost to be smelly. This is one of the main reason why people think composting is smelly!
- Turn the compost frequently so that oxygen can get in. It is needed by the micro-organism to break down the materials evenly. Remember they are like us, they need to breathe in oxygen to do their work.
- Place the compost bin in a shaded area. Make sure rain water does not get in.
- Compost usually will be ready for use(usually 2-3 months) once they turn black, and original materials cannot be distinguished anymore.
...and don't forget to wash your hand. Happy composting folks!
