Garden Composters And Composting Basics
By Mark Falco, Fri Dec 9th
Why Compost?
Recent studies show that an average family throws awayapproximately 200 pounds of organic kitchen waste every year.Combine this with all the leaves, grass clippings and otherorganic garden waste accumulated over time and that's a lot ofhousehold waste being added to the already mountainous wastedisposal problem. Some local authorities are refusing to takeaway green waste from gardening and others charge for theservice in an effort to curb mounting costs and then when youadd in the environmental costs of adding new landfill sites,road transport emissions from ferrying all this waste around andpotentially incineration and the fumes that releases theenvironmental advantages of composting are clear.
In slightly more selfish terms, if you are a gardener then youwill know the relatively high cost of fertiliser. Well, OK anaverage gardener's yearly fertiliser expenditure is not going tobreak the bank but when you can get fertiliser for free out ofthe stuff you throw away then it starts looking extremelyexpensive. Composting simply makes good environmental andfinancial sense and it's so easy to do there's nothing stoppingyou.
What Do I Need To Begin?
A compost bin, box, enclosure or handy place to put an opencompost heap. Cheap plastic composters and compost bins can bebought from all good garden centers and are quite inexpensivedepending on your requirements. A plastic compost bin isgenerally the cheapest whilst wood composters are generally moreattractive additions to your garden but a little more costly. Anopen heap (just create a pile somewhere) is also an option butit is advisable to have some sort of cover like a tarpaulinavailable for colder periods of weather.
Another slightly different alternative to composting in thetraditional sense is vermicomposting or wormeries. These use aspecial kind of worms to break down kitchen scraps producing afine compost-like material fromtheir casts and a nutrient filledliquid plant food which is ideal for feeding indoor pot plants.If do a lot of greenhouse gardening or have a lot of houseplantsthen a wormery may be the best choice for the disposal ofhousehold waste.
If you do not want to actually spend money on a composter thenbuilding your own isn't exactly difficult if you do not mindpicking up a hammer and nails. Nail together a few woodenpallets for example and you've got an enclosure suitable forcomposting. For plans and ideas on how to assemble your owncomposter at little cost, simply head to your favourite searchengine and type in phrases like "build your own composter" or"compost bin plans" for an endless supply of simple ideastypically costing under $30.
Where To Put Your Compost
Whether you purchase a composting bin or make your own composteryou need to make sure you have a flat, well drained place inyour garden not too far away that you begrudge taking yourkitchen scraps out to it. Compost bins should not be placed onconcrete, patio areas etc. as you want to allow the insects,worms and microorganisms which help degradation of your wastematerials the freedom to migrate into and out of your compostwithout hinderance.
In addition, choose a site which suits your climate. Warmth andmoisture helps the composting process so place your composter ina place which receives a fair amount of sunlight and shelterfrom the wind if you live in a cooler climate and if in a hotterclimate, ensure you give it shade to prevent it drying out.
What Materials Can You Compost?
Pretty much all your organic household and garden waste is anelligible candidate for composting although there are a fewexceptions. Things to particularly
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