How to Compost
Here's an eco-friendly way to dispose of garbage and create homemade, nutrient-rich fertiliser for plants
Quite simply, composting is nature’s way of recycling. It is when organic waste like food leftovers, manure, leaves, grass trimmings, paper, wood and so on are collected, and they decompose to eventually turn into valuable organic fertiliser.
So, why should one compost? For one, this practice offers you an eco-friendly alternative to disposing of wasted food, prayer ingredients (flowers, leaves, fruits) and other kitchen scraps, so you feel you are doing your bit in saving the environment, but that’s not the only benefit. It saves you money you would otherwise spend on fertilisers and manure from the market – you are simply reusing all the natural waste from home and recycling it. That sounds a lot more attractive than the fertiliser that often comes from sewage treatment plants and is sold to to us in bags, right? The compost produced at the end is a natural byproduct of decay; using this lowers the incidence of plant, root and leaf diseases. Composting also improves the physical and structural properties of the soil and makes it more mineral-rich, so you don’t need to keep buying chemicals to ensure that your garden soil stays fertile or to worry about too-clayey or too-porous soil. If you’re growing a colony of plants or a vegetable patch, you can be assured that the plants are growing in a non-polluted, chemical-free soil, and will be healthy and full of nutrients.
So, why should one compost? For one, this practice offers you an eco-friendly alternative to disposing of wasted food, prayer ingredients (flowers, leaves, fruits) and other kitchen scraps, so you feel you are doing your bit in saving the environment, but that’s not the only benefit. It saves you money you would otherwise spend on fertilisers and manure from the market – you are simply reusing all the natural waste from home and recycling it. That sounds a lot more attractive than the fertiliser that often comes from sewage treatment plants and is sold to to us in bags, right? The compost produced at the end is a natural byproduct of decay; using this lowers the incidence of plant, root and leaf diseases. Composting also improves the physical and structural properties of the soil and makes it more mineral-rich, so you don’t need to keep buying chemicals to ensure that your garden soil stays fertile or to worry about too-clayey or too-porous soil. If you’re growing a colony of plants or a vegetable patch, you can be assured that the plants are growing in a non-polluted, chemical-free soil, and will be healthy and full of nutrients.
Here are a few steps to create a compost pit right at home. You could have one in your garden; if you don’t have a green patch at home, you could set up a large bucket with soil and make it your compost bin, too.
Step 1: Dig a hole or make a bin
You could get crates for the compost bin or create a compost pit dug at standard pit depth right in the ground. If you choose the latter, then find a large patch of land in your garden and start digging. The hole should be at least 1 foot deep. You can keep the pit as wide as you like. If you are making a compost bin above ground, you could have one or more crates placed together for a large one. If you have space, you can go for a compost pile, instead. Make sure the pit (whether in the garden or at home) is in a warm but not too hot spot (away from direct sunlight). When composting in a bucket or crate, make sure they have holes in the bottom for aeration and drainage. The bottom of the bin should be lined with natural, brown materials like twigs, dry leaves, shredded paper and some soil.
Tip: Make sure you do not make the pit deeper than 3 feet as the decomposing organisms for good compost are aerobic (need oxygen from the air) and cannot live beneath this depth. If the composting materials do not get enough air, the other kind of bacteria – anaerobic – get started, and the compost can contain toxins that will harm your plants.
Step 1: Dig a hole or make a bin
You could get crates for the compost bin or create a compost pit dug at standard pit depth right in the ground. If you choose the latter, then find a large patch of land in your garden and start digging. The hole should be at least 1 foot deep. You can keep the pit as wide as you like. If you are making a compost bin above ground, you could have one or more crates placed together for a large one. If you have space, you can go for a compost pile, instead. Make sure the pit (whether in the garden or at home) is in a warm but not too hot spot (away from direct sunlight). When composting in a bucket or crate, make sure they have holes in the bottom for aeration and drainage. The bottom of the bin should be lined with natural, brown materials like twigs, dry leaves, shredded paper and some soil.
Tip: Make sure you do not make the pit deeper than 3 feet as the decomposing organisms for good compost are aerobic (need oxygen from the air) and cannot live beneath this depth. If the composting materials do not get enough air, the other kind of bacteria – anaerobic – get started, and the compost can contain toxins that will harm your plants.
Step 2: Prepare the compost ingredients
Look for puja flowers, stems, fruit and vegetable peelings, kitchen scraps, used tea leaves, wasted food, rotting fruits, egg shells, fresh grass clippings, coffee grounds, grains, green leaves, paper and wood shavings. Make sure you do not put salty food, dairy, meat products or bones, fats or pet faeces. Rip all these by hand or finely chop them. This will speed up composting, especially for underground composting, which is slower than above-ground bins or piles.
Tip: During festivals like Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Gudi Padwa, people tend to decorate their shrines with elaborate flowers and leaves. Once the festival is over, many people believe that puja samagri should be disposed of in the sea or in rivers. However, this has a severe effect on the water bodies, polluting them and harming aquatic life. Instead, it’s best to throw all the leftover festival waste into your compost pit.
Want to be more eco-friendly in the kitchen?
Look for puja flowers, stems, fruit and vegetable peelings, kitchen scraps, used tea leaves, wasted food, rotting fruits, egg shells, fresh grass clippings, coffee grounds, grains, green leaves, paper and wood shavings. Make sure you do not put salty food, dairy, meat products or bones, fats or pet faeces. Rip all these by hand or finely chop them. This will speed up composting, especially for underground composting, which is slower than above-ground bins or piles.
Tip: During festivals like Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Gudi Padwa, people tend to decorate their shrines with elaborate flowers and leaves. Once the festival is over, many people believe that puja samagri should be disposed of in the sea or in rivers. However, this has a severe effect on the water bodies, polluting them and harming aquatic life. Instead, it’s best to throw all the leftover festival waste into your compost pit.
Want to be more eco-friendly in the kitchen?
Step 3: Fill, mix and spread
Add all the ingredients to the compost pit. Mix the materials together and spread them out well so that they decompose as evenly and quickly as possible. Make sure you regularly turn the compost with a stick (if composting in bins) or shovel (if in a pit or pile). Water it but not too much. The really bad smell we associate with compost pits results when there is too much water or cooked food and too little air. If you add enough garden waste such as dry leaves each time, you will get a healthy composting mixture and very little smell. Composting generates heat in the depths of the heap, which gradually cools down as the process comes to an end.
Add all the ingredients to the compost pit. Mix the materials together and spread them out well so that they decompose as evenly and quickly as possible. Make sure you regularly turn the compost with a stick (if composting in bins) or shovel (if in a pit or pile). Water it but not too much. The really bad smell we associate with compost pits results when there is too much water or cooked food and too little air. If you add enough garden waste such as dry leaves each time, you will get a healthy composting mixture and very little smell. Composting generates heat in the depths of the heap, which gradually cools down as the process comes to an end.
Step 4: Keep filling and covering
Keep filling the pit with your daily organic waste, water it a little and layer it with brown materials (twigs, dry leaves, shredded paper, soil). In case you want to keep track of how much you’ve filled the pit or bin, place a white board next to it and keep writing the date and the height to which the pit is filled up. Cover the topmost layer with a layer of organic materials like shredded paper or dead leaves. Stop adding more material once the waste is a foot above the ground level. (The level will drop as decomposition pregresses.) Cover it with a lid with holes or a thin sheet of cloth. To prevent unsightly patches, you could even surround the pit with potted plants.
You may face these 8 challenges if you’re gardening for the first time
Keep filling the pit with your daily organic waste, water it a little and layer it with brown materials (twigs, dry leaves, shredded paper, soil). In case you want to keep track of how much you’ve filled the pit or bin, place a white board next to it and keep writing the date and the height to which the pit is filled up. Cover the topmost layer with a layer of organic materials like shredded paper or dead leaves. Stop adding more material once the waste is a foot above the ground level. (The level will drop as decomposition pregresses.) Cover it with a lid with holes or a thin sheet of cloth. To prevent unsightly patches, you could even surround the pit with potted plants.
You may face these 8 challenges if you’re gardening for the first time
Step 5: Harvest and use
A properly managed compost pit or bin should be ready in five to ten weeks; however, don’t be discouraged if takes longer – it can even take up to two years, depending on the speed of the process and the depth of your composting pit. Remove the covering soil, net or cloth to take a look at the pit. You can tell that the compost is ready is when no recognisable food content is visible and it looks brown and crumbly with a fresh-earthy smell to it. This compost now acts as a perfect, organic, natural fertiliser for plants. You can either mix it in the soil before planting grass, vegetables, flowers or shrubs, use it as mulch or add it to the soil used for your potted plants.
Read more:
7 Everyday Steps to an Environmentally Friendly Home
Tell us:
Have you ever made a compost pit at home? Share your experiences in Comments below.
A properly managed compost pit or bin should be ready in five to ten weeks; however, don’t be discouraged if takes longer – it can even take up to two years, depending on the speed of the process and the depth of your composting pit. Remove the covering soil, net or cloth to take a look at the pit. You can tell that the compost is ready is when no recognisable food content is visible and it looks brown and crumbly with a fresh-earthy smell to it. This compost now acts as a perfect, organic, natural fertiliser for plants. You can either mix it in the soil before planting grass, vegetables, flowers or shrubs, use it as mulch or add it to the soil used for your potted plants.
Read more:
7 Everyday Steps to an Environmentally Friendly Home
Tell us:
Have you ever made a compost pit at home? Share your experiences in Comments below.
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