Compost

There is no mention in history as to who was the one who while passing by a garbage dump discovered that after a while the garbage was turning into a brownish soil and some plants has started sprouting on it. Compositing is not a new concept and farmers from ancient times have been using some form of fertilizer to enrich the soil to get a healthier crop.

With the green revolution and the heightened awareness of recycling waste a lot of farmers and gardeners have turned to compost to grow their plants in rather than using chemical fertilizers. Compost basically consists of any recyclable waste like vegetable and fruit peals, used coffee beans, tea leaves, fallen leaves, cut grass and even cardboard. Even dryer lint can be composted as long as one has not used any chemicals in the wash. Even vacuum cleaner waste can be composted however one must make sure that it does not contain any non-recyclable items.

To make a composite pile is really quite simple and if you don’t have a proper composite bin use any part of the garden which is not too far from the kitchen but certainly out of sight. Put in fallen leaves, cut grass, and all kitchen waste from egg shells to wine that has gone bad. Add some soil from the garden to the mix and do use a pitch fork to mix the entire batch together. Do remember to mix the compost once a week so that an even mix is retained. During warm weather the compost should be ready faster and again it depends on local weather conditions. The ready composite which will accumulate at the bottom of the pile is easily recognizable as it will have an earthy brown color.

A compost pile is an organic pile and nature takes its course in turning waste into compost. The bugs and other creatures that one can spot in the organic pile actually help the compost to form. One should avoid throwing meat scraps on the pile as they could invite unwanted visitors to the pile. A compost pile can be started anywhere. It can be a shallow pit or an open surface. However a pit is preferred if one does not want to use a plastic composter as in rains the composite will not get washed away. One can easily recognize the compost when it is ready as it would have shrunk to two thirds in size and would have changed to a brownish color.

There are various composts that one can get and use in their gardens and vegetables patches. Mushroom compost is a compost that is a by product of the mushroom industry. Just a word of caution when using this it may have a very high chalk level. One creature that has been active throughout the ages in producing compost is the worm. They eat all kinds of food waste and turn it immediately into compost. One can introduce worms into a compost pile to get faster compost soil.

If one is very particular and wants to monitor the temperature of the compost heap there are compost thermometers that are used to measure the internal temperature of the composite pile. Some thermometer can measure up to 2000 Fahrenheit. If fast compost is required the internal temperature of the pile should be maintained at around 800 Fahrenheit.

Compost is now available in bags also however there is no way of guaranteeing the quality of the composite. The composite should have a nice earthy color and smell but there is no way of determining its contents unless one sends it out for chemical analysis.

Compost can also be made in a pail if no other container is available and one has the urge to make it. Care should be taken to keep the pail outdoors.