If you are concerned about climate change and the environment (and you definitely should be), you should think of reducing the waste material from your kitchen.
The best way is to utilize kitchen waste to make compost. It helps reduce the waste material and is an excellent fertilizer for the soil.
That sounds simple enough, but there are some essential compost supplies to remember if you want to get your hands dirty in the world of compost.
What is Compost, You Ask?
Organic decomposed material is known as compost. It consists of leaves, twigs, and scraps like leftover fruits and vegetables from the kitchen.
The process of making compost is called composting.
It helps make perfect organic nutrients for your soil (if you are going organic, your garden deserves organic material too).
Not only does it help save money you spend on buying store fertilizer, but it also reduces about 20-30 percent of the waste going to landfills.
7 Easy Steps to Follow
These are the 7 easy steps to make a perfect compost for your garden or backyard:
- Select a suitable compost bin.
- Decide the location.
- The alternate layering of the compost material, i.e., brown and green waste
- Addition of kitchen waste to the layering as it accumulates
- Until your bin is full, continue the expansion of layers.
- Maintain the bin.
- Harvest your compost and sprinkle it on your garden or lawn
Compost Supplies You Need
Whenever you have to deal with waste products, always remember to wear proper gloves and a mask to prevent any allergic reaction or infection.
Wash your hands afterward, and do not touch your face.
Making compost is an art. You are doing more than just making fertilizer for your garden. Compost supplies start from the basic things:
Compost Bins
Before starting the process, the first thing to keep in mind is that you don’t just throw the scraps from the kitchen around your garden.
That is not what we are aiming for.
Instead, we need a bin to collect all the waste. The bin serves to save compost until a hummus-like substance is formed, then sprinkle it all over the backyard or garden.
The bins help contain all the smells and can be placed indoors, in the cabinet below the sink, or outdoor.
Outdoor bins are our favorite as they can store large quantities without dispersing the rotting smell.
They come with a cover and prevent fruit flies from gathering all around them. The different types of bins include –
1. Simple Pallet Bins
They are made from various wooden pallets
Here’s a step by step on how to make one of these bins:
How to Make a Compost Bin for Free Using Shipping Pallets
Pros
- Moved around using a forklift
- Inexpensive
- Easy to dump the waste in them
- Can be made at home
- Less maintenance
Cons
- They take a lot of time to make compost.
- They may have open bottoms that allow access to rodents disturbing the composting process.
2. Tumblers
Compost tumblers are one of our favorite compost supplies to use. They are fully sealed and can be rotated. The rotation produces heat which speeds up the process. They are designed to make composting more manageable and faster.
Pros
- Remove any unpleasant smell
- Tidy and attractive
- Keeps away wild animals
- Speeds up the process
Cons
- They are expensive.
- Having a large capacity makes them difficult to turn.
What to Add in The Bin?
Organic waste includes sources of carbon and nitrogen. A balance is maintained between them. For example, too much nitrogen creates a wet mess, while the increased carbon source makes the compost dry and delays the process.
Green Waste
This provides nitrogen which is essential for composting. Dried leaves, twigs, fresh leaves, and garden trimmings are green waste. It would help if you mixed fresh and dried leaves to prevent compaction as it causes a reduced flow of air into the pile.
The most important example of green waste includes kitchen waste.
Brown Waste
This acts as a carbon source. Brown waste includes fallen leaves, pine needles, logs, sawdust, and straw.
Dos and Don’ts in the Kitchen
Not all kitchen materials are to be used for composting. Below is a table to check which leftovers or organic materials can be used.
| Can be Composted | Cannot be Composted |
| Vegetable peels | Meat and bones |
| Eggshells | Greasy animal products |
| Fruit seeds and peels | Plastics |
| Tea | Fried food |
| Coffee grounds | Pasta |
| Potatoes peels | Cooking oil |
| Sugar processed food |
Where to Form A Compost Pile?
After assembling the bin and compost material, you need to form them in a pile at a secluded and partially-shaded place in your house.
Preferably near the garden so that drying does not occur rapidly and the smell does not prevent visitors from coming to your house.
Next, you need to ensure that the bin is near a spot where water can be drained effectively.
What’s Next?
You need to maintain certain conditions for the composting process. But, don’t worry; they are not that hard to follow.
Temperature
A certain degree of warm temperature is needed for composting. A 130-140 Fahrenheit temperature is required for aerobic material to break down by microorganisms.
Aeration
As composting of aerobic substances is done, a flow of air is necessary to speed up the process and reduce the smell. Once a week, turning of the pile is required. In addition, oxygen essential for decaying purposes is introduced through aeration.
Maintaining Moisture
Too dry of a pile decreases the process and makes it hard to form compost. Add some moisture, but be careful as too much water causes a foul odor. The easy solution is to water your pile only if it becomes too dry and add brown waste if it becomes too wet.
Benefits of Composting
- Reduces the waste material
- Less soil erosion
- Improves soil health
- Conserves water
- Reduces personal food waste
Final Words
Reduce kitchen and food waste in a creative and environment-friendly way by composting the leftover food items.
Follow the simple steps mentioned above and play your part in reducing the waste material and garbage going to the landfills.
Go natural, go organic and give your garden soil a chance to breathe in natural fertilizers and nutrient-rich material.
