Composting for Beginners

Compositing is a great skill to learn, that can be done virtually anywhere. It’s great for the environment and helps to reduce waste. It may seem like a difficult task to start, but as long as you have greens, browns and a bin, you can have compost. It is also a great skill for children to learn. Not only is composting beneficial to the environment, it is practical, can help you save money and help you grow healthier plants.

What is compost?

Composting is the act of recycling food and organic materials. Compost is the product that is produced that can be used as a fertiliser in the garden or to build up the soil structure on your property. In the composting process, microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, help break down the organic material into a substance that can be used in the garden.

Why Compost?

One benefit of composting is the compost. While gentle, compost is also rich in nutrients. It is an effective way to fertilise plants and soil, giving it what it needs without the harmful products that many manufactured fertilisers have.

Another benefit is the ability to reduce your carbon footprint. When food wastes are sent to landfill where there is little aeration, scraps rot and release gases like methane – a greenhouse gas, as well as produce harmful leachates which can contribute to climate change. Learning to compost organic material will not only help improve our environment, but it will help create a valuable resource that can be used in gardens.

How to Compost

Choose a Location

You can either use a compost bin or build a compost pile. Choose a convenient, dry spot, that is away from your neighbours and has partial sun. A spot that is easily accessible from the house and the garden is what you are looking for.

Start your Compost

Start by adding a layer of brown material to your compost then a layer of green. Everyone has differing opinions on the perfect ratio of greens and browns, but there is no easy answer. Get to know your materials and adjust accordingly. Water and oxygen is what is needed to make great compost. Make sure to chop or shred larger items as large materials take much longer to break down.

Maintain your Compost

If your compost is too wet or starting to smell, add some browns. If it is too dry, add more greens or a little water, enough to make it moist. You will also need to create aeration to your compost pile. To do this, you need to turn or stir the pile every three days.

When is it ready?

Once the microbe decomposers have the right environment, they will slowly eat up the solid material, decomposing it over a period of about three to four months. It should look, feel and smell like rich, dark earth.

More Gardening Resources

For a printable pdf file that is great referring to while learning to create your compost, click on the link below:

Composting for Beginners

What is compost?

Why Compost?