Difficult times often call for a “back to basics” style of living. I know right now with the current pandemic, I, too, am trying to remain self-sufficient as much as I possibly can. Part of that includes starting and maintaining an edible garden. With food flying off the shelves at supermarkets and the public trying their absolute best not to step foot outside of their home, except for essentials, it makes a lot of sense to start growing your own food right from your backyard. And, you can save money in the process!
If you want to ensure you have the biggest, most prolific garden on your block, it’s a good idea to start getting into composting. Compost is basically just decayed, organic matter. However, adding it to your soil can give your garden an extra boost of nutrients, helping make your plants bigger and stronger in the long run.
But if you’re completely new to composting, don’t fret; it doesn’t have to be as complicated as people make it out to be.
For the purpose of teaching you how to compost, I referred to a video by Pure Living for Life.
In the video, Alyssa says the first step is finding a place to put your compost pile.
“We chose to find a happy medium and put our compost somewhere where it wasn’t going to be in the way, so it is in our main living and walking area, but we also didn’t want it too far from the house because we knew that if we’re putting our kitchen scraps in the compost pile, the further away, the less likely it is we could compost,” Alyssa explained.
To help keep your compost contained, Alyssa says and her and her husband Jesse decided to use pallets to create a box for their pile. Bins and tumblers will also work. However, containment is not required.
Next, it’s time to contribute to your compost pile. Alyssa says to add “organic waste. Brown stuff and green stuff, carbon and nitrogen, however you want to word it.” But things you do not want to add to your pile include meat, dairy products, or wastes from meat-eating animals.
The “green stuff” you’ll want to add to your pile include lawn clippings, coffee grounds, and manure. If you notice your pile is starting to get too sticky or slimy, Alyssa explains that this is a sign that your compost contains too much nitrogen, so add more carbon.
“Brown stuff” or carbon includes leaves, sawdust, cardboard, paper, and hay or straw.
Normally, both green stuff and brown stuff would come directly from your property. However, Alyssa and Jesse occasionally get resources off their property as well.
Now it’s time to actually make the pile. Once you have your carbon and nitrogen, you simply “shake it all around” and then “water it every once in a while” to keep the compost moist, Alyssa explains. She also discusses the importance of churning the pile every two to four weeks or so to “help speed things up.”
But how do you know when the compost will be ready to use? Alyssa says it pretty much depends on the pile maintenance and what your pile contains. For one her most reason piles, which was very large in size, it took approximately six months. However, she admits the pile was relatively neglected. That said, another’s compost pile might be ready to use even sooner.
Besides providing plants with greater nutrition, the act of composting is good for the environment. It gives leftover food a new purpose, conserves space in landfills, and aids soil in maintaining moisture while reducing water runoff.
For a visual step-by-step guide to composting, watch the helpful video below.
