Becoming a sustainable farmer means you’ll need to deal with certain tasks that traditional farmers rarely face. This includes making and using natural compost, as opposed to artificial fertilizer. It is a more eco-friendly way to maintain your farm, but will require more work.
It is possible to create compost entirely on your own, but it can also become a larger operation that involves your friends and neighbors. This will give you more resources, and allow neighbors to dispose of their waste in an eco-friendly way.
A Bin
The first thing you’ll need is a bin. You don’t want compost to form large heaps that will take over your hard, so a good bin should be used for this purpose. It is also important to decide where you plan to keep the bin. The goal is to find a well-drained spot, so that excess water has somewhere to go.
Worms
There are natural ways to dispose of waste using balanced ecosystems. Worms like warm, dark, moist places, so compost bins are perfect for them. You can buy worms ahead of time and spread them around the yard. They come in bags that are easy to move, without having to worry about having worms all over your home.
What To Include
The key to making a good pile of compost is what you choose to put in it. It is not a trash bin. The goal is to fill your bin with nitrogen, while maintaining moisture. The most common items to include are vegetable peelings, fruit waste, teabags, plant prunes and grass cuttings. It is also possible to add things such as cardboard egg boxes, scrunched up paper and fallen leaves, but these will take longer to decompose than items that are purely organic.
What To Leave Out
It is equally as important to understand what not to put in a compost pile. The goal is to avoid unwanted pests and odor, while keeping your soil and plants healthy. Items such as meat, dairy, diseased plants and pet waste should be avoided at all costs. It is also useful to avoid perennial weeds such as dandelions and thistle, as these contain seed heads that might start growing inside the pile.
Balance
A good compost pile is a balanced one. When you find the right mix of ingredients, you’ll get the most effective compost as a result. It’s often a matter of trial and error, but your goal is to balance the brown and green parts of your pile. Green components provide moisture, while brown provides nutrients. You should add one or the other based on the state of your specific pile, and what you may be missing.
Boosting Systems
There are ways to boost the system you’ve created. Boosts come in two forms, both derived from adding things to your pile or bin. In the first case, you add natural components. In the second, you can choose to add artificial ones. The most common natural component to add is air.
When it comes to artificial additions, you can opt to use compost activators. These are mixed with water, and help your compost to become a mush after it has been rotting for at least ten weeks.
Conclusion
Compost is a way to make your soil more fertile, without the use of artificial ingredients. It’s a process that takes time, as you need to let the ingredients rot in the bin and transform into mulch over time.