Monday, 26 April 2010

What To Put In A Compost


More and more people are starting a compost heap these days. It used to just be for gardening enthusiasts however "ordinary" gardeners are looking for info on how to make a compost.

But what exactly do you put in one of these composts? Well, basically anything that's organic can be turned into compost however when it comes to home composting you will want to avoid certain things. The problem is that vermin is attracted to meat and fish so you should certainly not add either of these items to the compost.

To give you a brief intro to some of the jargon, when we talk about composting we will be talking about two main types of ingredients. These are :-

  • Nitrogen - also referred to as "wet" and "green" items. These include vegetables, fruit, coffee grounds, tea bags, fresh leaves and lawn trimmings.
  • Carbon - aka "dry" and "brown" items. These include cardboard, paper, sawdust, hair, dry leaves, straw and hay.
Generally speaking you want to add roughly equal amounts of each type into your compost. People who add in too many from the nitrogen list end up with a mixture which is too wet, stinks and attracts flies. People who add in too many carbon items find that the compost simply doesn't decompose properly

Another important ingredient for a compost is oxygen. If your compost doesn't get enough oxygen you will get methane, ammonia and other compounds. It's not difficult to get oxygen into the compost. Just use a fork to mix it up a bit. There's also special compost turners that help with this.

Basically this covers the most important aspects of what to add into your compost.

Tuesday, 2 December 2008

Earthworms

If you prefer a sophisticated term for this oddity, its scientific term is entomophagy. If you have to worry about the neighborhood in which you live or if you live close to a public area, you may want to protect your worms from another type of predator.

(Kinda makes you want to ask what the new dish is before you eat in a strange place, huh?) If you soak an earthworm overnight, it will purge the soil from them. Another means of advertising your worm farm is flyers or bulletins. Gardeners have known the benefits for years because of the benefits to their compost piles and the results of their flower beds or vegetable gardens. But most worm farming in America is done for other purposes. OK, it rarely happens to all of us.

Feeding worms is a pretty easy job. Let's get into my very worthwhile thoughts about gardening that are a lousy appendage of my mixed up thoughts. Husbands come in useful for this sort of work.

Worm Farming is Safe, Natural, and Healthy in Many Ways Are you tired of seeing all that trash along the riverbanks and ponds because of the plastic lures the fishermen use. The catalpa trees are well-known along the rivers and swamps of the southern states in the United States. Catalpa worms are usually called "Catawba worms". It can end with having a garden that devises address for a gardening. You must first know the difference before you choose which you invest in for your worm farming adventure. They don't do any tricks that you can watch. Stir the waste lightly to allow air flow and space for the worms to travel more easily and feed less.

Certainly seems like a sound theory. You've got to be kidding. I want to bring this to your attention concerning earthworms then once you do this then you may be well ready because it all can last for weeks and even months. Here's how it will work when it comes to soil. Feeding your worms doesn't cost much for a small worm farm. Some are willing to offer them up in exchange for taking them off their own hands while others will sell them for a low fee.

Just give me enough time.