February 04, 2021
Home Care
Your Complete Guide To Home Composting
Imagine if piles of trash accumulate all around the place where you reside. The stinky smell from the garbage mountain becomes a nightmare, and there is no way you can escape the health hazards caused due to it.
Sounds eerie?
With the amount of waste generated by humans, the world is staring at a future with a highly polluted environment, climate change issues, air pollution, and whatnot. Is it the apocalypse, people ask?
But wait a minute; everything is not as doom and gloom as you may think. There is an easy solution.
Home Composting is one of the best methods to keep our planet green and free from unwanted waste. Follow composting practise, and you can keep brimming your lives with joy and everyday sunshine.
Moreover, if you love to paint your indoor and outdoor spaces with lush green grass, bright and beautiful plants, and useful vegetables, compost is like a treasure trove.
It includes nutrients, minerals, and soil microorganisms that boost soil quality and provide healthy crops and good crop yield.
Never mind if you don’t know about composting because this article aims to make you an expert.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about Home Composting.
What is Compost?
Compost, in simple terms, is a mixture of decomposed or decayed organic matter. It is a natural process where tiny but powerful microorganisms break it down and turn it into rich manure or fertilizer for the soil.
You know how microbes in our stomach help us digest the food, right? The same is true with compost microorganisms.
Did you know that approximately 40% – 50% of the waste produced is organic in nature?
Therefore, composting is a magical formula to handle household organic waste like a pro and convert it into something useful.
Benefits of Home CompostingÂ
After all things are said and done, you might be wondering how it will benefit you. Well, if you still have an iota of doubt regarding the potential positives of composting, the benefits mentioned below should settle the case.
- It improves the structure and porosity of the soil
- Reduces erosion and runoff
- Boosts overall soil quality
- Supplies organic matter important for plant growth
- Helps nutrient retention in the soil
- Increases soil fertility
- Improves soil pH
- Acts against harmful pathogens in the soil
- Reduces the burden of waste management
- Directly helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Last but not least, home composting costs you nothing, and it is an enjoyable experience. Now that you know all the ways you can benefit from composting, let’s jump to the process.
Home Composting Process
If you have never done composting before, do not mind. Our 5-step guide will help you to begin home composting without any hassles.
- STEP 1
There are four things that make an excellent compost: Air, Water, Carbon-based waste (browns), and Nitrogen-based waste(greens).
The first thing you need to do is to gather all the organic waste material from your kitchen and the garden.
Segregate the waste into browns and greens, and make sure that a reasonable balance of both is available to prepare the compost. Wondering what are these waste types?
Find out the examples below:
- Browns: Dried Leaves, Twigs, Garden debris, Coffee grounds, Shredded paper, Brown paper bags, cardboard, straw, etc.
- Greens: Fresh grass clippings, food scraps or waste, vegetable and fruit peels, salad greens, etc.
- STEP 2
Once you are done with the segregation process, choose a location or space where you want to compost. Make sure the space is ventilated and doesn’t get affected by sunlight.
If you have lots of space, pit composting is the best method to follow. If not, don’t worry; you can use a perforated bin instead.
Or you can make one by yourself by punching some holes in a bin as it will let the air go through the organic waste. Remember, air or oxygen is essential for microbes to perform its function.
Then, add layers of brown and green waste and mix it well using a spatula.
- STEP 3
As mentioned before, microorganisms are the heroes in the composting process, and they need warm and moist conditions to thrive, multiply, and speed up the process.
On the other hand, don’t make a mess by putting in too much water, either!
The best way is to sprinkle water on the heap to wet all areas enough.
To add water or not depends on the moisture content of the waste. So, if the waste is more on the drier side, then adding water would be recommended.
But, if the moisture content is already high, then it would be advisable to add carbon sources like cocopeat and dry leaves.
You can check out your composting mate here – Bioclean Compost
- STEP 4
Gathering and mixing the compost once a week are significant steps to maintain the ideal condition for microbes to act on the organic material.
The turning or mixing of the heap allows oxygen to reach all parts of the waste.
This, in turn, stimulates microbial activity and maintains optimum internal temperature which is necessary.
- STEP 5
Observe the compost and find out if all the organic waste ingredients are recognizable anymore in its original form or not. It should be dark, smelling rich, and very earthy, devoid of any bad odour.
Once you see these properties, you are ready to use it as compost for your plants.
Home Composting Challenges
Just like anything in the world, there are challenges in the home composting process as well. And you should certainly know about them.
Due to an improper mix of bacteria, many composting enthusiasts complain of things like foul odour from the pile, too much disturbance of worms, pests, and flies, and slow composting.
The right mix of the bacterial community can tackle all these challenges head-on. There is a simple solution to all these problems.
You can use Bioclean Compost from Organica Biotech. The rapidly acting bacteria decompose all kinds of organic waste and convert it into nutrient-rich compost.
Some of the other features of Bioclean Compost are that it keeps compost pile odour free, inhibits harmful bacteria, and repels pathogens and pests.
So, now you have the solution, then what are you waiting for? Start composting and save the world! J
Happy Composting!
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