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Make your own organic fertilizer through composting

Written by Laurence

Monday, 02 March 2009 14:39

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Composting is an amazing example of natural balance. Think about how wonderful it is that the waste products from our food can be used to grow more food! It really reminds us of the beauty of evolution and the balance that it brings to our lives.

The Zen gardener will want to have a natural healthy garden, and what better than to use compost as a fertilizer? Soils that are always called upon to grow plants or vegetables lose their nutrients and hence require additional support.

By composting, not only can you make your own fertilizer, you can also reduce the amount of waste that is going into landfill sites and you can save yourself money on buying commercial products.

To make your own fertilizer it’s best to obtain a composting bin. You can purchase one of these, but you need to make sure that:

there is a hatch at the bottom to remove mature compost
it has a tight fitting lid to prevent rain entering and seeping away nutrients
there is no solid bottom as micro-organisms must enter through the soil to help with the composting process
ideally your composting bin will be made of wood as this allows a better aeration
consider a three compartment composting bin as this makes mature compost easy to manage and forces immature compost to be mixed

Once you have installed your composting bin, you can start to make your compost. In theory it could be only a matter of weeks before your first compost is ready, but it may in reality take up to a year before you have enough material for your garden.

Start putting in your organic waste. Almost everything can go into your composting bin:

waste from preparing vegetables, fruit or salad
bread and cereales
leaves that have fallen from trees
weeds that you’ve pulled up, as long as they haven’t any seeds
grass cuttings after having mowed your lawn

However, you should avoid putting these items into the composting bin:

meat, fish and dairy products do not compost easily and can be very smelly
oils, including vegetable oils
any items that look sick, diseased or has parasites - you want your compost to be fresh and healthy

Once in your composting bin, organisms from the soil will start the process of decomposition. They’ll work their way into the centre of the container and will produce a heat of up to 60°c. After a few days the organisms' efficiency will slow down a little as they will be missing oxygen, so it’s a good idea to stir up your compost regularly. The three bin solution inherently removes the need for stirring.

Composting is an environmentally friendly way to help your garden grow in a healthy and natural way.