An alarming percentage of food products are wasted every year- thrown into the trash when they could have easily been recycled. Just about any type of organic waste can be recycled using a process called composting. This process breaks down materials and turns it into compost which can be used to grow plants. Composting is quite easy to get into and can become a staple in your gardening methods. Besides food waste, many types of dead plant materials from yard work can be composted too. While you can compost without any type of container, using a compost bin is the most efficient way to do so.
The first step is to find the right compost bin for your needs. Looking at the amount of waste you generate per month you can tell how big of a composter you will need. The most standard of bins consist of a bucket with a lid. Materials are added to the bucket and tumbled regularly to infuse them with oxygen. After a month or so the compost is ready to use. Using a shovel, the compost is placed within a container and distributed around the yard. It can be used for potting soil, topsoil or fertilizer.
The composting process produces highly nutritious material for your plants to use, promoting vigorous growth. To get the same level of quality at a store, you could end up spending almost ten dollars for a bag. Making it yourself helps the environment and your pocket book.
The next level up in composting technology is a compost tumbler. Tumblers have a bin that rotates around on its frame. This provides an easier and more thorough way to mix compost without using a shovel. A breaker bar on the inside of many models helps break the chunks into little pieces. Some tumblers rotate on a metal frame above the ground, while others sit on a mount with rollers.
It is important to buy a composter with vents on the sides or top to allow excess heat to escape. During hot days the interior of the composter can get quite hot. The composting process creates gasses which need to escape. If the area is particularly hot, consider putting the composting bin under a deck canopy. If you live near the woods, a locking lid is recommended to keep raccoons, bears and other animals out of the container. Animals are attracted to the undecomposed food.
A special liquid called compost tea will collect at the bottom of the container. A tap can be helpful in retrieving this liquid, as it can be used as liquid fertilizer. One special type of composter called a wormery uses worms to decompose waste.
Photo by svilen001 **Cortesy of sxc.hu
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