NatureMill : Gardening & Lawn Care Resource

The Science Behind Composting: How Does Compost Work?

Everything organic will inevitably decay at some point of time. This is thanks to the trillions of microorganisms thriving on decaying detritus in every nook and cranny of our environment.

Composting is basically a process that utilizes the inherent abilities of these microorganisms to speed up the process of natural decay. According to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), this is achieved by providing an ideal environment for detritus feeding microorganisms to thrive.

If all of this sounds confusing to you, read on as we break down the science behind composting and how every household can use it to pave the way to a more sustainable future.

Why Is Composting Essential?

The United States alone generates approximately 210 million tons of trash (solid waste) each year. Most of this trash gets placed in municipal landfills. These landfills take up a huge amount of space and also release methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases.

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Brewing The Liquid Gold Of Gardening : How To Make Compost Tea?

Compost tea has been hailed as the liquid gold of gardening, a magical elixir that makes plants grow faster, healthier and more vibrant. Many gardeners swear by these benefits of compost tea. This concoction of organic matter is carefully brewed to give your soil a boost towards optimum health. If you too are intrigued by the concept and want to find out how to make compost tea for your own garden, we are here to help you.
What Is Compost Tea?

Basically, compost tea is a liquid organic fertilizer for your houseplants, flowers, fruits and vegetables. Compost tea carries within it concentrated nutrients and plant friendly aerobic bacteria, fungi and nematodes. The liquid is a nutritionally rich, well-balanced organic supplement made for your plants by steeping aged compost in water.

Compost tea is a great way to love your plants naturally. This mild liquid fertilizer can be used at any time of the year to boost the overall health of your garden. What is great about compost tea is that you can make your own right at home, with some fresh well-matured, finely broken down compost. If you wish to know more about natural composts then you should look at organic composts.

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How To Compost – The Complete Guide

There is a dire need to preserve the environment at this moment. What better way to start the revolution at home than to make your own compost? It will reduce waste and help maintain your garden. The question is – how to compost? This article will cover all you need to know about composting.

What Is Compost?

Before learning how to make compost, we must first know what compost really is.

Compost is a mixture of different types of organic waste, like vegetable peels, seeds, etc. It is also known as a ‘soil conditioner’ since it is rich in nutrients, and when mixed with soil, it acts as a fertilizer.

Composting

• The process of Composting is basically the disposal of compost in the soil. In the oxygen-rich conditions of the land, the compost decomposes naturally and acts as manure to the soil.
• The earthworms, bacteria, and other organisms in the soil are the prime decomposers.

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How To Compost Chicken Manure?

It is possible that if you own chicken and other poultry, you might be earning well by selling eggs and other products. However, what if we tell you that your chicken can add to your income further?

Any average sized chicken can produce up to one cubic foot of manure every day. If you compost this chicken manure and add it to the soil, you can enhance the soil health and grow crops commercially. Therefore, we will teach you how to compost chicken manure and use it to develop your vegetable garden.

Why Compost Chicken Manure?

Unlike other animal’s manure and excreta, chicken manure is too strong and cannot be used in its raw form to grow vegetables and fruits. Chicken manure is known to damage the roots of the plant permanently. However, the compost prepared from chicken manure with hot composting techniques can enrich the soil with essential nutrients.

The benefits of using chicken manure compost are:

• Chicken manure compost helps in reducing the percolation in the soil and helps it in retaining more water.
• The compost made out of chicken manure has a higher quantity of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as compared to the manure of cows and horses. These nutrients fertilize the soil naturally.

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How Often To Turn Compost: Everything You Need To Know

While composting is great for your garden, the process itself can be quite tedious and time-consuming. Turning your compost heap is a great way to aerate it and substantially speed up the decomposition process. But, how often do you really need to be turning your compost pile to get the best results. Let’s find out.

The Benefits Of Turning Your Compost

Let’s start off with a simple lesson in biology. There are basically two types of bacteria you will find in your compost pit- aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Aerobic bacteria are super efficient at breaking down the organic waste you dump into the compost. They do, however, require oxygen to thrive and metabolize.

On the other hand anaerobes proliferate in oxygen deprived environments. However, these microorganisms aren’t efficient at decomposing organic compounds. They excrete toxic substances like hydrogen sulfide in the process, which can result in a rather unpleasant smell.

Several problems can create an anaerobic environment in your compost heap. This oxygen deprivation can lead to dwindling populations of aerobic bacteria, slowing down the process of decomposition. Turning your compost can help eliminate most of these problems. Let’s see how

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How To Compost Horse Manure

If you own a horse, you must know that horses excrete up to fifty pounds of manure every day. This amounts to approximately eight tons of manure yearly. If you do not dispose of this waste in a timely manner, you will end up with a giant heap of manure in your stable. Composting horse manure is the conventional method of managing it effectively. Therefore, in this article, we shall teach you how to compost horse manure.

Steps To Compost Horse Manure

1. Choose A Location

Choosing the appropriate location for composting is crucial for good results. The site for composting should have access to resources like sunlight and water. Most people prefer composting sites that are near wells or a direct water supply. In general, the location of the composting site should be such that you have easy access to it, and can monitor the progress regularly.

2. Binning Or Piling

Next, you need to decide whether you want to make the compost by the bin method or the pile method. While both these methods are successful in decomposing organic matter and producing compost, the bin method is more sophisticated and easy to manage. However, the traditional pile method, where you make five to six layers of organic matter and lay them in the open, can be useful if you need to compost horse manure in bulk.

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DIY Compost Bin

Right now, more than ever, we must do our bit for the environment. Every action we take has an impact on the earth. So, it is essential that we make a few eco-friendly changes to our daily lives, in order to protect our planet’s future.

What better way to start than composting? All the food waste that you organize and dispose of, can be converted into a compost which has multiple advantages. The best part about composting is that you can build it up from scratch with very little help.

We are here to provide you all the extra information you might need before starting your own compost project. In this article we will tell you how to make a DIY compost bin in case you don’t have sufficient space to dig a hole. DIY compost bins are easy to make, and even easier to manage. These can be a second addition to having something like countertop compost bins and compost tumblers.

Composting requires very little skill; all you have to do is collect all your biodegradable plant waste, from vegetable peels and fruit cores to all the dead leaves and twigs from your garden. Then add a little water to the mix and, after a certain period of time, you will have your very own nutrient rich compost. This also works as a great fertilizer for your garden.

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