Before the invention of chemical fertilizers, our great grandparents used compost manure to replenish the fertility of the soil. Compost manure nourishes crops and increases yields significantly especially if the soil is infertile. Unlike chemical fertilizers, compost manure doesn’t increase or decrease the PH level of the soil.
Manure has many advantages to the farmer and environment. You will save a lot of money if you replace fertilizers with compost manure for increasing fertility of your garden. In addition, it reduces the amount of biodegradable household waste which fills your dustbin and creates greenhouse gases in dumpsites.
You can turn the Biodegradable waste from your kitchen and farm into nutrient rich compost manure which you can use to nourish crops in your garden provided you know How to Compost At Home.
Steps to create compost
Select where to place a compost tumbler
The location of a compost tumbler is important since it requires aeration. You should place the tumbler in an open place where there is free flow of air to allow oxygen to penetrate into the decomposing materials. The area should get sufficient sunlight to heat the tumbler and speed up the decomposition process. However, the tumbler opening should be covered when it start raining to prevent the compost pile from having excess water.
Load the tumbler with biodegradable materials
You should be careful when loading composting ingredients because some materials such are plastics don’t decay. Remove non-biodegradable materials from the ingredients to create room and eliminate things that can slow down the process.
Collect kitchen scraps, garden waste, fruit and vegetable scraps and add them in the tumbler. Garden waste includes grass, leaves, stalks and other degradable materials. Add fresh top soil to speed up composting process since it has worms which aerate the materials. In addition, you can add alfalfa pallets to accelerate the process.
You should also add brown materials such as wood and paper to neutralize the smell. It also enables oxygen to flow easily. However, maintain the ration of green to brown wastes at 1:3 so that you can have a compost with a high nutrient level. Keep the compost moist to enable the microorganisms to work well but it should not get soggy.
Spin the barrel
Turn the handle or spin the barrel itself to mix the materials and improve aeration. You should do this regularly to make the materials to decompose uniformly. You should close the openings of the barrel before spinning to prevent the compost from scattering on the floor.
Monitor the compost frequently
Check the barrel regularly to ensure the pile is moist like a damp sponge. If it is too dry, you should add some water and spin it. You should also reduce foul odors when spinning the barrel. If the pile smells like ammonia, add brown waste to reduce the smell. But if it has a strong smell of grass, just spin the barrel to mix the materials and increase the rate of evaporation.
Unload the compost
A tumbler makes compost manure in about three weeks. Compost that is ready has a brown color and a granular feel. It should have an earth-like smell and its volume should have reduced by about a half. Unload your compost on a wheelbarrow by spinning the tumbler. Use the compost to grow plants in your garden and see the difference. You can repeat the same process each time you need compost manure.
Conclusion
Compost Manure has been used since ancient times to improve the fertility of the soil. Households produce a lot of biodegradable waste which produces a bad smell when decomposing. You can eliminate this smell if you know how how to compost at home.
You can easily compost biodegradable waste from your kitchen and farm if you buy a compost tumbler from Amazon.com. You can also check out customer reviews so that you can select the perfect one.
Check out some great compost tumblers at Amazon.com, including the Miracle-Gro-Small-Composter, which is available in two different sizes, and very reasonably priced.