Home composting is fairly straight forward, however there are ways of composting faster, and improving the quality of your compost. There are also a few basic issues people tend to have when composting.
What is compost? Compost is basically natural material that has rotted down to create a material that is rich in nutrients. Nature does it all by itself, if you think about it, where do the leaves go when they have fallen? The become part of the soil, and in doing so they improve the soil structure.
Why compost? There are many reasons here are a couple:
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When you put material that can compost into the bin it goes to a land fill site and stays in the bag you put it in, as it composts it releases methan gases that contribute to global warming.
It is a free way to get a mulch and soil improver for your garden or allotment, this benefits and improves the existing soil structure by bringing in nutrients and organic matter that can help break up soil types such as clay, or add weight to sandy soils that dry out quickly.
What can be composted? Most organic materials and waste can be composted, such as paper, cardboard, garden waste and kitchen waste. However avoid using cooked foods, meat, and non vegetarian animal waste (dogs or cats) as these can encourage pests.
Whats the right mix? 50/50 mix should be obtained between "green" and "brown" waste. Brown waste consists of paper, wood, leaves etc, and green waste would be grass, foilage, vegetable peelings etc.
Do I need to turn the compost? Well this really depends on how much space you have and how quickly you want to get compost.
Compost Bin Types:
