An example of a garden compost pile set-up
composting for the Garden, by which I means home or yard composting, can be as simple or as involved as you would like, and depends on how much yard waste you have, how fast you want results, and the effort you are willing to invest.
Composting for the garden can reduce yard waste that needs to be hauled to the dump by anywhere from 50 to 75% (see Commercial Coposting).
Composting can be used for human soil waste as well. One method is to build compsting toilets. These can actually be an alternative to central wastewater treatment plants (sewers ) or septic tank systems for houses. Typically they are chosen to alleviate the need for water to flush toilets, and to avoid discharging nutrients and/or potential pathogens into environmentally sensitive areas, but they also capture nutrients in human excreta, which can be important for subsistence farmers.
Composting for the garden is easy to do and really it is fool-proof. Sure you can make some mistakes that will create odor or make composting go really slow leaving some seeds to grow again, but you will still be composting.
Composting is not a mysterious or complicated process. It is just natural recycling and it occurs on a continuous basis in the natural environment. It is the controlled decomposition of organic materials, and it’s a rewarding way to recycle your yard and kitchen wastes into a valuable, nutrient rich, sweet-smelling soil amendment.
Yard and food wastes make up approximately 30% of the waste stream in the US. Not only does composting sucessfully divert a significant portion of your family’s waste stream from the landfill and water treatment facilities, it is a natural method of recycling organic materals into valuable humus. Yard trimmings make up at least 13% of what households put out for disposal.
Food wastes comprise another 10% of the total waste volume but when composted it provides a high level of nutrition.
By composting at home you can recycle all of your yard debris and make compost, which adds nutrients to your garden. It’s easy to do!
By composting, you return the earth’s nutrients back to the soil, where your plants absorb them, thereby becoming healthier. Healthy plants are far more resistant to diseases and pests.
Over time, microbes, mold, worms, ants, slugs and snails eventually transform the pile into a moist, dark brown mix that, when added to gardens, enriches the soil and reduces the need to water and to apply pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Microbes generate their own heat as they work, so keeping the compost bin warm but good composting needd the warmth to stay, so it is all about proper insulation. Also, compost is self insulating, so if you pile compost on top of compost, the middle of your compost stack will be the warmest.
Teh composting process needs water to be present. Add water as necessary.
You also need to turn the pile for best results. When you turn your pile, be sure to mix fully composted material with newer material.
Clearly, once the compost has broken down inot fine brown particles. The next step is to add it to the soil when composting for the garden. That way the soil builds good soil structure and texture, increasing the amount of air that can infiltrate and the amount of water it can hold.
Adding compost to heavy clay soil loosens the packed soil by opening up pore spaces that, like little tunnels, carry air and water down into the soil. Add both nitrogen-rich green materials, and carbon-rich brown materials. For example, when you add kitchen scraps or grass, also add some dry leaves.
Listed below are some other websites with related information about this Compost topic:
COMPOST: Definition from Answers.com
Exporting Leaves Importing Compost - New York Times
How to Start Your Own Compost Pile
How do his veggies grow? The no-dig way - latimes.com
Why Compost Tumblers May Be Your Best Choice
The following are related composting posts, to be found on this website and which you may find interesting::
Composting For The Garden
Related terms: How to Make Good Compost, How to Make Seed Compost, How to Compost, Compost for Vegetables, Organic Compost, Garden Compost UK, Compost Garden Waste
Tags: Composting for home, compost, gearden composting
