All You Need To Know About Composting & How To Make Yours -

Have you ever wondered: Can’t food waste be recycled and how can I possibly do that?

We all have… (maybe not all) but the solid answer is Yes, they are not completely “waste”.

You might have heard of the term composting but don’t know exactly what it is and how it possibly applies to you.

This read is yours to enjoy and to learn the simple and complex definition of what composting is, know how you can carry it out,

what benefits you can get from composting and much more knowledge to make your world a better place (in this little way at least)

What is Composting?

Simply put, Composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter,

like leaves and food scraps, into a valuable fertilizer that can enrich soil and plants.

Composting is an aerobic method of decomposing organic solid wastes, so it can be used to recycle organic material.

Let’s break that down: it is the act of collecting and storing plant and waste food material,

so it can decay and be added to soil to improve its quality.

The process involves decomposing organic material into a humus-like material, known as compost,

which is a good fertilizer for plants.

Composting organisms require carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and water in certain ratios to work effectively.

These materials allow microorganisms to work at a rate that will heat the compost pile.

Benefits of Composting

Composting is one of the powerful ways to reduce our trash at home and generally the community and build healthy soil.

It doesn’t require so much effort, or expense, and you don’t need to read the entire Wikipedia to know how to carry it out.

Composting helps prevent erosion, conserve water and has many more amazing benefits.

Sounds like something worth doing right? So, let’s take a look at these slowly.

Reduces Waste Pile Up

We generate a lot of waste at home.

Food waste and garden waste make up 28% of what we dispose of.

Composting at home allows us to reduce the volume of materials that might be disposed of in landfills

and divert them to some useful component for our farm and environment in the comfort of our backyard.

Reduces Erosion

Studies have shown that the use of compost in highly erosive areas can decrease erosion and allow quicker establishment of vegetation.

We see that compost application reduced soil loss by 86% compared to bare soils,

and sediments reaching nearby surface waters decreased by 99% when compared to silt fences,

and 38% when compared to hydroseeding applications (Demars, 1998).

Composting helps prevent erosion by:

Increasing water infiltration into the soil surface,
Reducing runoff and soil particle transport in runoff,
Increasing plant growth and soil cover,
Buffering soil pH can increase vegetation establishment and growth.

Reducing soil particle dislodging.
Increasing water water-holding capacity of soil reduces runoff.
Alleviates soil compaction by increasing soil structure.
New vegetation can be established directly into compost.

Improves Soil Health

Every plant loves healthy soil.

Composting is a very vital tool for improving both large and small-scale agricultural systems.

Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are nutrients required by garden crops and compost contains these nutrients.

Composting offers an organic alternative to synthetic fertilizers.

Conserves Water

Compost can retain and transfer water efficiently through the soil.

Compost prevents water from flowing off the land and this is possible through increased infiltration.

Through increased absorption, compost helps retain water in the soil.

Healthier Plant Growth

In so many ways, compost helps promote healthier plant growth

It helps to balance soil density, and soil PH and serves as a sponge for water.

For soils that are too dense, compost loosens up the soil whereas, in compost that is too loose, it helps clump the soil.

Compost also serves in balancing the PH of the soil.

Most composts have a PH of between 6 and 8.

There is a specific PH range required by each plant species.

By providing certain nutrients to the soil, compost also boosts the growth of plants as these nutrients are made available for them.

Composts also discourage certain weed types disallowing the growth of certain weeds that can prevent crops from growing well and healthy.

What You Can Compost

We may wonder if there are just some things we can use to make our compost

and decide to discard others thinking they are not compost material.

You would be surprised though how almost too many things we do not think are important in composting

are very good materials to use for compost.

There is a list of many things that we can compost, I’d split them into two categories

1. Greens for Your Compost

Greens are the nitrogen-rich components of your compost pile.

These materials are an essential component of the composting process and provide several benefits to your compost pile.

They tend to be moist, break down rapidly, and contribute to a quick rise in temperature within your compost.

Most of the waste from the kitchen falls into this category

Here are some examples of greens to add to your compost:

Fruit and vegetable peels
Citrus rinds
Melon rinds
Coffee grounds
Tea leaves and paper tea bags
Old vegetables that aren’t suitable for eating anymore
Houseplant trimmings
Weeds that haven’t gone to seed
Grass clippings
Fresh leaves
Deadheads from flowers
Dead plants (as long as they aren’t diseased)
Seaweed
Cooked rice
Cooked pasta
Stale bread
Corn husks
Corn cobs
Yam peel
Banana peel
Plantain peel
Sod that you’ve removed to make new garden beds
Thinning from the vegetable garden
Spent bulbs that you used for forcing indoors
Old dried herbs and spices that have lost their flavour
Eggshells

You may be wondering what coffee brown is doing on a “green” list. It’s good to note that the term green is not limited to green-coloured items. Any plant matter, regardless of its colour, can be considered green if it’s rich in nitrogen.

2. Browns for Your Compost

Browns are rich in carbon.

They are known to enhance aeration within the compost pile and provide structural integrity.

it’s advisable to finely chop or shred them before adding them to the compost because “browns” decompose at a slower rate

Shredded newspaper
Shredded office or school papers
Shredded, non-glossy junk mail
Torn-up plain corrugated cardboard boxes (not with glossy coatings)
Straw
Bedding from hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits
Fall leaves
Chopped-up twigs and small branches
Pinecones
Nutshells (avoid walnut shells as they can inhibit plant growth)
Excelsior
Raffia
Used napkins
Toilet paper, paper towel, or wrapping paper tubes
Fallen bird’s nests
Pine needles or straw
Used paper coffee filters
Pressed paper egg cartons, torn into small pieces
Sawdust (only from untreated wood)
Brown paper shopping bags, shredded or torn
Brown paper lunch bags, shredded or torn
Leftover peat or coir from seed starting
Coir liners for hanging baskets
Wood chips
Bedding from chickens

What Not To Compost

However, there are some materials that you should avoid composting, such as:

1. Meat and Dairy Products: These can attract pests and create unpleasant odours.

2. Oily or Greasy Foods: Cooking oil, fatty foods, and greasy food scraps should be avoided.

3. Diseased Plants: Plants infected with diseases or pests may not break down properly and can spread diseases in your compost.

4. Weeds with Mature Seeds: Weeds with seeds can continue to grow in your compost pile.

5. Pet Waste: Pet faeces can contain harmful pathogens, so it’s best to avoid composting them.

6. Coal Ashes: Unlike wood ashes, coal ashes can contain harmful chemicals.

7. Synthetic Materials: Plastics, metals, synthetic fabrics, and non-biodegradable materials should not be composted.

Types Of Composting

Aerobic Composting

This method known as hot composting needs oxygen, and oxygen is usually incorporated by turning the organic waste from time to time.

Other aerobic composting methods are:

Windrow Composting: used for large-scale composting.

In-vessel: organic waste is placed in a container to decompose but still turned from time to time to allow oxygen in.

Aerated Static Pile Composting: wood shaves and papers are laid in layers to allow oxygen that is usually not turned like the others.

Anaerobic Composting

This method is known as cold composting.

It does not require oxygen to compost the organic waste, they are broken down through fermentation,

It is much slower than the typical method but also requires less monitoring.

Vermicomposting

This is known as traditional composting, waste is composed of fungi and microorganisms, and oxygen is still required.

Difference Between Compost And Manure

You may be wondering what the difference is between manure and compost

since both are used to improve plant growth and both are decomposed organic matter that enriches the soil.

To understand the difference, we would define manure and compost

Manure

Manure is the organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture and mostly contains animal faeces.

There can be other components in manure as well, such as compost and green manure.

Manure typically contributes to the fertility of the soil and the total nutrient content of the soil.

It can add organic matter and nutrients to the soil.

The most common nutrient manure can add to the soil is nitrogen, which is used by soil bacteria, fungi, and other organisms in the soil.

Fresh manure is a byproduct of pets, sports, and farm animals.

Animal dung from many different plant-eating animals may be used, all having different pros and cons.

Compost

Compost can be described as the decomposed remnants of organic materials, and it is a type of manure.

Generally, compost has a plant origin but can often contain animal dung and bedding material.

Therefore, compost is a mixture of different ingredients useful in improving soil fertility.

Typically, compost is formed from decomposing plant and food waste, including recycling organic matter.

This decomposition results in a mixture rich in plant nutrients and some beneficial organisms.

These organisms include worms and fungal mycelium.

Typically, compost can improve soil fertility in gardens, agricultural landscapes, horticulture, urban agriculture, etc.

The key difference between manure and compost is that manure is faeces (sometimes urine) sourced as a byproduct from raising animals,

while compost is organic matter that’s undergone a natural decomposition process.

Both provide nutrient content for plants, but they may be used for different reasons.

What Is Compost Used For?

Just as we mentioned in the benefits of composts, composts are essential for the following purposes:

Enrich the soil
Serve as fertilizer
Improve soil PH
Enhance plant growth
Moisture retention
Erosion control
Suppresses weed
Improve soil structure
Reduces landfill waste.

The uses and importance of composts cannot be overemphasized as they have proven to be very useful in the management of soil and plant health over time.

Equipment Needed In Making Compost

Since you have followed through this far, let’s get prepared to make our first compost.

Making compost is as easy as you can think of.

These are the equipment you would need to make that compost you have just learned about.

To get started, you would need your compost bin or pile.

Are you thinking of that bin you can convert already or a designated area for this?

That’s progress already.

It could be a compost bin, a compost tumbler or a simple pile in your backyard.

Next, you would need your green and brown materials, water, air, and shredder (for larger materials).

Optionally, you would need a compost thermometer,

a cover or a lid,

and a compost starter e.g. nitrogen, oxygen, and microorganisms.

(Compost starters are not necessary if you have the right mixture of greens and browns).

Remember that your green and brown materials should be layered, keep the pile aerated,

and monitor the moisture levels to ensure successful composting.

Over time, you’ll have nutrient-rich compost to use in your garden or on your plants

Once you have piled up the organic waste

It’s time to get started decomposing it

Choose where you want it decomposed it could be an area in your garden

Some might dig a little pit, or you can use a compost bag, some usually come with an opening under where you can begin to take the compost soil for use.

It can also constructed with wood, plastic or metal

Composting can be a continuous activity or something you do from time to time as soon as you gather the waste

It takes about two weeks to two years for waste to be fully decomposed depending on what the waste is made up of.

What Happens During Composting

Composting occurs by various bacteria, fungi and insects which naturally inhabit the soil

they break down the material in aerobic conditions, which means it is a process which occurs with little oxygen present.

If you observe composting in a bottle, you will be able to observe the following that occurs during composting.

Increase in temperature:

As the decomposition of organic materials occurs,

the biological process carried out by the microorganisms present begins to generate heat.

This can result in a noticeable increase in temperature within the bottle to around 140°F (60°C),

indicating that composting has started.

Condensation:

As a result of the heat generated during decomposition,

condensation forming on the inner surfaces of the bottle might be seen.

This occurs because water vapour, released from the decomposing organic materials,

condenses when it comes into contact with the cooler surface of the container.

Change in appearance:

Over time, you may notice a change in appearance as the content of the bottle’s material starts to degrade.

Reduced volume:

Typically, composting will result in a reduction in the volume of materials.

As the organic stuff decomposes, the bottle’s overall contents may become smaller as a result of the volume reduction.

Earthy smell:

The microbial activity and organic acids produced during decomposition result in the content having a lovely and earthy smell.

Biological activity:

If you look closely, you might observe tiny organisms such as insects, mites, or even earthworms inside the bottle.

By further dissolving organic materials, these animals play a significant part in the composting process.

Colour Change:

The colour of the compost will darken as it ages.

It may start as a blend of green and brown materials, but over time, it will change into a rich, dark brown or even black substance.

Humidity:

Depending on the moisture content and ventilation in the container, there are usually fluctuations in humidity levels.

As composting requires the right amount of moisture, you might notice changes in moisture levels over time.

I hope this article was helpful.

All You Need To Know About Composting & How To Make Yours

What is Composting?