Wouldn’t you like to have some greenery in your house? Instead of just some pots, you can have your very own green nature spot in your home. To aid this you can make your own compost at home with your own kitchen waste instead of having to spend on fertilizers and pesticides. Compost is nature’s very own pesticide and fertilizer. It has no harmful side effects when used in your plants. It is simple to make and is an excellent growth booster for young growing plants. It fights of fungi, and keeps pests away, helps a plant regain its growth and give healthy yield. Vegetables too can be grown with the help of compost at home. It aids in removal of toxins in the soil and providing nutrients to the plant. It is an excellent way to prevent soil erosion and also very friendly to the environment.
Compost is decomposing of organic matter like leaves, vegetables, fruits, paper, wood, even waste like excrement. Thus it derives its name. When done under proper supervision and with the right directions is an excellent way to recycle your organic home waste. You can even make your own compost tea at home. Compost tea has a lot of uses and is great for plant health. Home composters use your organic waste generated usually in the kitchen and garden and by manipulating the other factors involved in this process, we hasten the decomposition which normally in nature takes about a year or more. For home composters to work, it requires waste, water, carbon, nitrogen for the bacteria that aids in composting and air i.e. oxygen for the bacteria to thrive. A constant stable environment is maintained so that the matter can turn into compost faster than the usual time. Home composters are available as clay pots, plastic bins, one can even use leftover empty paint bins to make a composter. Ventilation of the holder is important, so holes are drilled into the holder or slits are made in the holder. A combination of dry brown leaves or paper and green leaves, along with colourful vegetables and fruits are put at the bottom of the holder. Dried out egg shells too can be put in. Cut bigger pieces of leaves into smaller pieces. Dry brown leaves provide carbon and green or colourful veggies and fruits provide nitrogen. Mix the heap and leave for a few days. Keep stirring the heap and also adding more waste everyday. You can add a little water or activators for the compost like ash, wood, red earthworms, manure or compost starter.
Make sure the pile is stirred at least daily. Drain any excess water. If your pile starts to smell, check if there is extra water, or if the ventilators are blocked or if you have put in a wrong element such as meat or bone pieces. Leaving your bin in the sun is an excellent way to add heat to the process. Keep two bins so that you can manage your compost easier. The bottom part of your pile will have turned into compost after about six weeks. You will know it is ready when it does not look like its original matter. It will crumble in your hands and give off a woodsy earthy smell and will resemble dark brown in colour. Remove this pile and keep in the other bin, or start a new pile in the new bin.
