Compost is basically the equivalent of the good stuff in soil (humus) that sustains plant life. It helps the soil retain moisture, assists with the formation of good soil structure and provides nutrients. So much of what we send to landfills consists of vegetation that could be used in your garden. Each family throws out around 200 pounds of vegetable waste, each year. Multiply that by thousands of families and that’s a lot of garbage that has to be transported and landfilled. By setting up your own compost pile you’ll not only be helping your garden, you’ll be helping the planet in other ways.
Here are some tips every composter should know—
- Aerate. Your compost needs oxygen if it is going to break down the materials you add. If it’s a tumbler, turn it. If it’s static then get a shovel and get in there and move it around.
- Save the worms. If you find a worm while you’re gardening carefully relocate it to your compost bin, it will help break down your wastes.
- Go Big. Container wise. Bigger is better, but smaller is better than nothing at all.
- Get Cracking! Rinse and break up your eggshells before adding them.
- Add fluid. You don’t want it too wet, but you don’t want it too dry either.
- Sunshine is best! The composting process works quicker in sunny locations.
- Cover it up. Keep a bag of leaves next to the composter so you always have brown material to cover new waste additions.
- Kitchen aid. Keep a list of what can and cannot be composted and keep a lidded container in your kitchen for convenience and empty a few times a week.