Did you know that over 60 percent of garbage and waste produced from the average U.S. household might be recycled or composted? Regrettably, only 8 percent of American waste is composted, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Did you also know that yard waste, such as grass trimmings, adds up to almost 20% of garbage produced every year? When deposited into landfills, organic matter like food and grass trimmings cover a considerable amount of area and play a significant part inside the formation of methane gas, a greenhouse gas that remains inside the atmosphere for approximately 9-15 years...and is over 20 times more effective in trapping heat inside the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).
Composting food and yard wastes is easy, specially when using a purchased compost bin. Making your own compost pile is obviously an option, but compost bins around the market come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and result in the composting process relatively trouble-free. No matter how you choose to compost your organic wastes, you'll be challenged to deny the advantages of composting. Composting helps the environment by reducing greenhouse gases and other air pollutants that will be created because of simply throwing organic wastes in to the local landfill or incinerator. Composting also saves money by looking into making zero cost fertilizer available to you personally for the garden. Finally, compost puts nutrients back in to the soil, making your backyard soil richer and plants healthier.
The first spot to begin when composting would be to pick a compost bin. Compost bins are obtainable in most shapes and sizes, so the sized your backyard or yard isn't an issue. Large compost bins let devoted gardeners with a sizeable growing area the ability to make enough compost to last throughout the growing season. On one other hand, small compost bins can fit inside the kitchen or around the balcony of a city dweller's apartment and provide enough compost for house plants along with a small herb garden. Knowing the length of time you would like to spend tending to your compost pile and the way much space you have to devote to a compost bin will benefit you while you select probably the most appropriate compost bin.
Now that you have selected the best compost bin, it's to suit your needs to|time and energy to} begin filling it with organic matter. But can you add any type of organic matter in to a compost pile? Unfortunately, no. In general, the goal would be to fill your compost bin with a combination of 50 percent browns, and 50 percent greens. The browns add carbon to the mix and consist of variety of the} ingredients that follow:
- Dried leaves
- Chopped Cornstalks - has to be shredded or chopped into tiny pieces first
- Shredded Paper
- Shredded Cardboard
- Paper Towels
Greens add nitrogen to the mix and include many of these ingredients:
- Grass Clippings
- Garden Trimmings
- Most Kitchen Wastes
- Fresh Hay
- Manure from non-meat eating animals
Do not put the following types of organic matter in your compost bin unless properly prepared first:
- Diseased plants
- Grass clippings with chemicals
- Hedge trimmings
- Nut shells
- Peat moss
- Pine Cones
- Pine needles
- Wood ashes
- Wood chips
For information regarding how you can prepare these types of organic matter for composting, visit the web site of your neighborhood agricultural extension office.
Some organic matter does not belong in a compost bin. Never add the following items to the compost bin:
- Cat litter
- Charcoal and briquettes
- Cooked food waste
- Dairy products -- (butter, cheese, mayonnaise, salad dressing, milk, yogurt, sour cream)
- Dishwater
- Fatty, oily, greasy foods
- Fish scraps
- Glossy, colored paper
- Peanut butter
- Pet wastes, human excrement
- Sludge (biosolids)
Maintaining your compost pile depends around the type of compost bin you have selected. Some compost bins require that the pile be mixed occasionally, however, many compost bins require no mixing. Refer to the compost bin manufacturer's instructions for details.
By buying or constructing your own compost bin that suits your situation, and also by following some basic rules and recommendations, you may create your own dollar stretching, eco-friendly, plant loving compost.
No comments:
Post a Comment