How to Make Compost

Compost is a simple, but valuable item that is extremely easy to make. If you have a garden or flowerbeds you can easily make compost to naturally fertilize your plants. There are typically three different types of compost piles. You have what is called a pile, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's when you gather your composting materials and pile them up on the ground. You can also build a small cage out of wood or some type of fencing. The best way to compost is to purchase a composting bin. You can recycle many of your household waste items into your compost pile. Almost all organic matter is suitable for a compost pile; you need both brown and green products for your pile. The brown items which will include tea bags, coffee grinds, manure and almost any other brown organic items are rich in carbon. Green materials which include everything from grass clippings to banana peels are rich in nitrogen. You want your compost heap to have a good equilibrium of carbon and nitrogen. Whatever you do, don't put any protein materials like meat into the compost heap. The protein will rot and cause an awful smell. You can put garden clippings, grass clippings, leaves, kitchen waste, wood ash, pine needles, and even egg shells into the compost pile. Once you have a good pile going you have to ensure that water is introduced and that the sun will raise the temperature of the pile. Composting is a natural process of breaking down organic matter into a rich substance that plants thrive on. Micro-organisms, fungi, bacteria, insects, and worms will eat up the discarded waste and turn it into an excellent organic fertilizer for your garden or flower beds. This is the same process that happens every year when leaves fall to the ground and slowly decompose. All you are doing is speeding up the process. Compost works best when the temperature of the pile is above 100 degrees and below 140 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature many seeds and bad items for the compost pile will die in less than a quarter of an hour. If you chop up the items using a lawn mower it makes for much faster composting. If you just pile up all the organic matter and leave it could take up to a year to have good compost, but if you manage it carefully you can have compost in as little as a month. By managing the compost you have to ensure that the temperature is hot and there is a good level of nitrogen and carbon. If you feel the pile and it is warmer than the temperature outside then it's doing its job, if not then you must add more nitrogen materials such as grass clippings or manure. You also must ensure that the pile stays moist; it needs water to properly decay. The pile should always have a little moisture, about as much as a wrung out towel. Not only is this excellent fertilizer for your garden, but it also helps cut down on wastes at the community land fill. And with more and more waste services refusing to take grass clippings, leaves, and tree limbs this is an excellent way to discard of those materials. Composting is not only good for your garden, it's good for the community and can be a fun process. It's neat to watch nature at work and see how we have found ways to speed up the natural process. Happy composting!

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