Successful Composting

Research composting if you are contemplating using this natural mulch and fertilizer in your organic vegetable garden. A couple of things can be used to reach a result, the hot method and the cold method. If you are using the hot method, you could have matured humus that is ready to use in a few weeks. Using the cold method takes much longer and will most likely not be ready to use for about a year. Use basic things now to avoid problems later. First you need to locate an area away from your living space for your compost bin. It is also wise to construct this container on level ground. Once you have your container completed, you can begin adding materials. A good base of grass cuttings, small twigs, chopped up leaves or straw. It is called your base layer. All the mixture in the compost bin has been chopped up into small pieces, usually about the size of your thumb. Begin adding your other ingredients such as kitchen scraps or manure.

Always remember to add a layer of grass cuttings, leaves and such (brown food) over the top of the kitchen scraps (green or nitrogen rich food). You will want to have about twice as much brown food in your compost bin as green food. At this point, depending on how much humus you may need, you may want to go ahead and construct another bin to fill up while the first one is maturing. One will never run out of humus for your organic garden. When the first container if full begins filling the second bin. Turn the materials every day or so in order to get fresh air to all the ingredients and also to help control odors.  When the bin is full, add a layer of brown food to the top. Heat the mixture wants to leave your humus to cure or mature.Remember to stir or turn the humus every couple of days. It is also necessary to sift your humus before using it on your garden to make sure that any large pieces are removed.