Compost is highly sought after by gardeners. It contributes to better soil life, improves soil structure and is the perfect mulch: truly the black gold of the garden. At the same time, it reduces your waste mountain and the trash can is less likely to be filled with green waste. Reasons enough to quickly put together a compost pile or purchase a compost bin.
How do you start making compost?
First and foremost, provide a spot in the semi-shade. There the compost will not heat up too quickly and thus will not dry out. The barrel or bin should not be on a paved surface, so all the small insects and worms can get to the organic material. If you are bothered by mice or rats, a piece of chicken wire at the bottom of the compost bin can help.
If you have your compost barrel or bin and it is in a suitable spot, you can start filling it. To make good compost, make sure you have a balance of green and brown material: green material is rich in nitrogen and contains a lot of moisture, brown material is rich in carbon and is drier. Composting is not an exact science, but the distribution between green and brown material should be about equal. Very large pieces, for example branches, are best made a little smaller so they digest faster. Then you can add green and brown material alternately to the compost bin. The more variation, the better. In addition, make sure to aerate the pile weekly. By turning the compost you provide more oxygen, so everything digests faster and the compost forms faster. You can do this with a special aeration stick or a pitchfork and soon the worms will be visible.
What material provides compost?
So, as you could read, it's best to make sure you have an equal distribution of brown and green material. Below we provide a handy list.
Green waste (nitrogen-rich waste):
- Grass (note: not too much as this can cause fermentation)
- Weeds without seeds
- Blooming flowers and pruning debris
- Raw vegetable scraps
- Fruit waste
- Coffee grounds
Brown waste (carbon-rich waste):
- Branches
- Unprinted cardboard or egg cartons
- Straw
- Hay
- Woodchips
Alternatives to classic composting in a bin or barrel
Worm Hotel. A worm hotel is a smaller version of the compost bin, which makes them ideal for smaller (city) gardens or a balcony. This bin consists of several layers, to which special worms are also added. By adding vegetable, garden and fruit waste, you give nutrition to the worms. In turn, they provide digestion of this material, which in turn provides compost. A nice bonus is that you can drain a kind of "worm tea" from the hotel, which turns out to be an excellent plant food.
Bokashi. A traditional Japanese method of composting through fermentation. Again, you make a mixture of small pieces of organic material and alternate them with a Bokashi starter in a special bucket. The Bokashi bucket takes up very little space, which again makes them very interesting for small gardens or a balcony. The starter contains living microorganisms (bacteria and yeasts), which will ferment the waste. After some time, you can drain juice. This juice, as with the worm hotel, is perfect to use as plant food.
Leaf Earth. Do you have a lot of leaves in your garden? Then don't throw them all on the compost pile. For larger quantities of leaves, make better leaf mold. An equally good alternative for the garden. Collect as many leaves as possible and make them smaller. You can do this perfectly by running over them with a lawnmower. Collect the pieces of leaves in a large bag (think of an empty bag of potting soil) and leave it in a sheltered place. The fungi present will break down the leaves and after one year you will have full-fledged leaf mold.
Compost pile problems
Sometimes making compost doesn't go the way you want it to. The material doesn't digest, the compost stinks or everything rots away. Be sure not to add the wrong things to the compost pile. This causes the process to not go as it should. Material that should definitely not be added:
Bones of animals and fish bones
Bread
Cooked food scraps
Cheese
Printed paper
Pet droppings
Diseased plants
Weeds with mature seeds
Moisture also plays a role with compost. The material will digest very slowly or even not at all in extreme drought conditions. See a lot of ants running around? If so, that could be a sign of too-dry compost. Add nitrogen-rich green material: think grass, fruit or vegetable waste. Moistening the compost with rainwater and covering it with a tarp or lid are simple but effective tricks to combat this. On the other hand, if the compost is too wet, it can start to rot. Do you see a lot of fruit flies in and around the compost pile or does the pile smell? That could be a sign of too wet compost. In this case, add extra brown (carbon-rich) waste and turn the pile over. This will reintroduce extra oxygen into the compost, make everything drier and allow the process to continue.
Learn more thanks to our videos
Did you know that we also have a well-stocked YouTube channel? With over 450 videos, we have a large database of information. Be sure to take a look at YouTube and subscribe, and you'll stay up to date with the latest videos.
In this video, Angelo shows you how to add mulch in the garden.
When is compost ready?
Compost that is ready to use is called mature compost. Mature compost has a slight forest smell and does not smell at all. How long this process takes depends on a lot of factors. If all goes well, you can have mature and usable compost after just 8 months.
A fun little test to check if the compost is ripe can be done with cress. Take a small container or seed tray and fill it with the ripe compost. Sow some cress in it and watch carefully what happens. Do all the seeds germinate and are the seedlings green? Then the compost is perfectly fine. Are the seedlings turning yellow or not germinating at all? Then you still need to be patient. The compost is not yet ripe.
Chickens: our ecological garbage cans
Cooked food scraps should not be thrown on the compost pile. Not good for the whole process, but it also attracts pests. Unfortunately, too many food scraps still end up in the trash, creating more waste. The solution? Get some chickens in the house. These feathered friends will happily eat your cooked leftovers and, in turn, reduce waste. In return, you get fresh eggs and cozy clucking.
Love for chickens
Chickens have been on the rise in popularity in recent years. Logical, says green journalist and author Angelo Dorny, who makes no secret of his love for "his ladies. In this complete reference book, Angelo tells you everything you need to know when you want to start keeping chickens. He shares stories from his garden and introduces you to the ladies who provide him with a fresh egg almost every day. During his burnout and depression, they played an important role in his recovery.
Angelo helps you purchase new chickens and goes in-depth on hatching chicks. He discusses 40 breeds of chickens and lists diseases and attackers your animals may face. And if you thought eggs are always brown or white, your mouth will fall open in amazement at the variety Angelo shows you.
