Make your future garden happy by getting ahead on making your own compost to ensure nutrient dense soil!
I’m getting the gardening itch. Are you? I am starting to daydream about what my garden will look like this year. I have two goals I want to accomplish this year when it comes to my garden. The first one is I want to maximize it. I want to grow enough food that I can do lots of canning and freezing for the Winter. However, in order to accomplish goal number one, goal number two is very important. My goal number 2 is to create my own compost so I can have very nutrient dense soil.
In the past, I would usually just buy already nutrient dense compost, so I did not have to go through the trouble with making my own. Although, the more I thought about it and did some research, it really isn’t any trouble at all to make your own.
Why Create Your Own Compost?
Some of you may be thinking – “Why would I create my own compost if I can simply buy it already done for me?”
I asked myself that very same question and here are a few things that made me decide to do it myself.
- Zero waste – you are using the things around your home like food scraps, dried leaves, sticks, and wood shavings that otherwise may only be used once.
- Saving money – you’re not going out and buying compost and you also don’t need to go out and creating your own is all about using what you already have.
- Better garden – your garden will thrive more if you create your own soil because it will ultimately be healthier.
- Satisfying – creating compost with your own hands and reaping the benefits of it will be so satisfying!
Creating Your Own Compost Step-By-Step
- Start by having a container in your kitchen to collect any food scraps. That can be any food scrap except for meats, cheeses, and bread. For this, I use a plastic bag. I personally have not had issues with fruit flies. However, with this step, use whatever will work best for your home and kitchen.
- Next, take a bin or a large pot that’s about 3 feet deep and put 1/4-inch holes all throughout it using a drill. You can either go all the way around the top making holes and do holes all on the bottom, or you can vary the holes all throughout. I chose to vary the holes throughout. Once the holes are all drilled in, raise the bin/pot up on a few bricks or boards. This will help with good air circulation!
- The next step is to start layering into your bin to be on the road to creating your compost. When it comes to layering, the general rule is 4 parts brown to 1 part green. We’ll go deeper into all the layering farther down in this post.
- After the layering is done, finish off with a good watering.
- Let all the layers sit together for about two weeks, then give it a good mix. Mixing your layers every two to four weeks will ensure that your compost comes together quickly.
- Now, enjoy nutrient rich compost and an even richer garden!
How to Layer the Compost
The layering is probably the most detailed part about this whole composting journey. However, it is very manageable. Like I said above, the general rule when it comes to layering is 4 parts brown to 1 part green. The brown consists of sawdust, straw, dry leaves, and cardboard. The green is the food scraps that you are saving!
Alright, now let’s talk about the order we want to put them into our bin or pot…
Start by adding dry leaves to the bottom of your composting bin. Dry leaves are rich in carbon which will help ensure successful composting. The leaves will also help with aeration and drainage of your compost. They will also help regulate the temperature. I did a mixture of dry leaves and wood chips.
The next layer will be a layer of soil. Soil helps to act as a neutralizer to the smelly gases that may be released into the air from your compost. The soil also helps to prevent an infestation of fruit flies.
Thirdly, add in those fruit and vegetable scraps. These food scraps help to add nutrients to the compost which creates a more fertile soil for plants and crops.
On top of scraps add on another layer dry leaves and then soil. I did a mixture of straw and dry leaves for the top layer. Finish it off with a good watering to seal it all in!
If you try this out, let the ladies here at Brick House On Green know how it worked out for you!
Very descriptive article, I liked that a lot.
Will there be a part 2?
Thank you!! I hadn’t thought about doing a part two but that’s a good idea! I will definitely keep that in mind!