Essentials of Basic Composting

Containment

The first step to achieving proper composting, is to isolate your composting to a particular place, or separate area within your home garden. This helps in producing bacterial free compost. Containing your compost in either a commercial container, or a homemade one, ensures that your compost is separated from other areas of your garden, until it is ready to be applied, and mixed into your soil.

A separate place can be created, and kept especially for this purpose, or a container can be used to contain the compost, and assist the decomposing process. The better the aeration, the quicker your compost will be produced. But there is far more to it than that. Another vital consideration is the need to build up heat, within the composting material.

A container, helps to ensure that all the elements to create a healthy compost are contained in a proper, and isolated position. This also assists you, the composter, and encourages you to keep on composting.

There are certain elements needed to be contained within your container, and certain essential steps to be taken, to ensure successful composting. You will need to monitor, and ensure the correct amounts of moisture, air, and the right mix of food, or composting material, are being maintained at all times, or at least at most times, to ensure proper healthy composting is efficiently occurring for you.

You should maintain an awareness, then of what is going on in your compost bin. Ensure there is variety of composting materials available, aerating the compost from time to time, and adding a little moisture, when it appears too dry.

It is a great idea to allow access from garden's natural composters, the worms. Worms will hasten the degradation of composting raw materials into luscious soft pleasant smelling bountiful compost, ready to go straight onto your garden. Your compost bin then, should sit directly onto the soil. Don't position it on a footpath, or paved area, for example.

The worms will find there own way into your compost. One day you will open the lid, to see there now a virtual thriving worm farm, and a productive one at that, all taking place for you, for the grand old price of nothing.

I find that a large solidly constructed one piece plastic tub, with a close fitting lid, is best. I have found that those plastic composting bins, with clever aerating vents and holes, defeat the purpose, by allowing insect, and pest infestation to

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Composting: A brief guide for the beginning composter ?
We want to hear your view. Write now!