A Beginners Guide To Composters and Composting For Recycling Household Waste
Posted: Wednesday, June 15, 2005
by Mark Falco
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Why Compost?
Gardeners know fertiliser is relatively expensive, particularly so when you have an absolutely free source being thrown away every year. Recent figures estimate the average household throws away around 200 pounds of kitchen waste every year which combined with the rest of the garden waste is an awful lot of compost. In addition, for the environmentally conscious, the benefits of natural waste disposal through composting are clear. Better your household waste be recycled into something useful than being dumped into rapid filling landfill sites, incinerated or otherwise disposed of in environmentally unfriendly ways. Many local authorities are refusing to dispose of garden waste or making a charge for the service which makes composting an even more appealing idea. Composting simply makes good environmental and financial sense and it's so easy to do.
A compost bin, enclosure or handy place to put a compost heap. Composters and compost bins can be bought from all good garden centres or online garden equipment retailers and are pretty inexpensive depending on your needs. Plastic bins are the cheapest whilst wooden bins are generally more attractive additions to your garden but a little more expensive. An open heap is also an option but it is advisable to have some sort of cover available for during colder weather.
Another alternative to composter bins and heap are wormeries. Wormeries use worms to break down kitchen scraps producing a fine compost and a nutrient rich liquid plant feed which is perfect for feeding pot plants and hanging plants. If you have a lot of houseplants or do a lot of greenhouse gardening then a wormery may be the best choice for the disposal of household waste.
If you do not wish to buy a composter then building your own isn't exactly rocket science if you are in the least bit handy with a hammer. Nail together a few pallets for example and you've got an enclosure suitable for composting. For plans and ideas on how to build your own composter, simply head to your favourite search engine and key in phrases like "build your own composter" or "compost bin plans" for loads of simple ideas typically costing around $10 - $30 in raw materials.
Where To Compost
Whether you buy a compost bin or create your own composter you need to ensure you have a place in your garden, preferably away from your house in case of smells (which shouldn't be an issue if you compost correctly) but not too far away that you begrudge taking your kitchen scraps out to it. Compost bins should not be placed on concrete, patio areas etc. as you want your composting buddies (worms etc.) to have free, unhindered access in and out of your compost. Instead choose a level piece of ground with good drainage.
Choose a site which suits your climate. Warmth helps the composting process so if you can, position your composter in a location which receives a lot of sunlight and protection from winds if you live in a cooler climate, or in a more shady area to prevent the compost drying out in hotter climates.
What Can You Compost?
Pretty much all your organic household and garden waste can be composted although there are a few somewhat obvious exceptions. Things to particularly avoid are meat, fish, bones, fats and oils, dairy products, dog and cat droppings as these can attract rodents, smell pretty awful when they rot down and carry diseases. Also, it is advisable to thoroughly dry out persisent weeds and remove seed heads before adding these and ashes are also best avoided, as are glossy magazines although shredded paper and cardboard are fine to add. Feel free to add waste fruit and vegetables, egg shells, coffee grounds (worms love them!) and teabags, eggshells, hair, leaves, clippings and other organic waste. As a rule of thumb, if in doubt, leave it out but most organic matter will mulch down just fine and if you shred it or cut it up smaller, it will compost faster.
How Long Until I Have Usable Compost?
This depends on the type of heap you have, the weather and your interest in the project. If you want to make as much compost for your garden as possible then you will be likely to take a more hands-on managed approach to your composting, while if your goals are simply to dispose of kitchen and garden waste in a more 'green' fashion then a hands-off unmanaged approach is more likely.
Managed composting can produce a 'hot rot' with very fast results and usuable compost in as little as three months but it does require additional effort on your behalf to keep it going. A hot compost heap can reach temperatures of 70 degree celsius but requires regular turning and nurturing with careful layering and balance of browns and greens in the mix, shredding materials and maintaining a good moisture level.
An unmanaged cool heap is however much easier to maintain and rots down at up to 30 degrees celsius with little input from you but can take 6 months to a year or more before the material has rotted down enough to be a usuable fertiliser. Just take what you have and throw it in with no further thought given to it.
There are ways to speed up the process in both cases by, for example, adding specialist composting worms which can be bought from garden centers or found online (look for "composting worms"), or by using a compost activator whcih is basically a lot of micro-organisms which help speed up the process. The addition of a handful or soil now and then or horse manure will also add microorganisms to speed up the composting process free of charge.
For The Best Compost...
...use a wide variety of materials. The more varied your additions to your compost pile, the better your final compost will be as it will have a greater variety of nutrients available to enrich your soil. Compost made from kitchen and garden waste is the best food for your plants you will find and at the same time you are giving the environment a hand and saving you and your local authorities money into the bargain.
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Mark Falco is the owner of ukgardeningsupplies.co.uk - a UK gardening shopping guide featuring composters, wormeries and composting accessories plus more gardening tools, equipment and supplies at low prices from UK online garden centres and nurseries.
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