A compost heap eliminates garden waste while producing nutrient-rich garden soil. You can find out how successful composting works here.
Compost produces valuable garden soil
If you want to optimally care for your garden soil, you should enrich it with nutrient-rich compost soil. The compost not only improves the quality of the soil. It also contributes to reducing the waste problem both in the garden and in the house. If you have enough space in your garden, then you should definitely create a compost heap, as garden waste and kitchen waste are converted into valuable fertilizer on the compost heap.
Compost correctly - 5 tips
Tip 1: Find the right location
Enjoying the garden is beautiful. Arguing with the neighbors rather not. When choosing a location, care should therefore be taken to ensure that the compost heap does not bother neighbors with its smell.
A humid climate in the compost promotes living beings and thus the decomposition of the plant components. A compost heap should therefore always be in the shade or at least in the semi-shade and sheltered from the wind. Too much sun dries it out and slows decomposition.
Tip 2: Proper layering and ground contact
Putting the compost heap on a paved area makes no sense. It needs contact with the earth so that creatures can enter it from below to decompose the plants.
When filling, make sure that the individual layers are sufficiently ventilated. You can achieve this by mixing coarse garden waste such as branches with very dense waste such as lawn clippings. If the waste is too dense, too much moisture will form and eventually rot and mold will form.
Tip 3: What belongs in the compost?
Not everything is compostable. These include diseased plants, flower fertilizer, paper, cat litter, tobacco, cigarettes or even cotton cords. On the other hand, weeds without seeds, leaves, moss, potato peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds, leftover fruit and vegetables, lawn clippings and cut flowers can be composted without hesitation. Be careful with citrus peels, wood ash, sawdust and sand, only add small amounts. Larger parts such as branches shouldbe chopped.
Tip 4: Better 2 containers
Two compost bins side by side are usually better than one. Because then you can only fill one container at first and "relocate" it later. With a digging fork, the content is simply shifted from the full container to the empty container. In this way, the compost is mixed and aerated a little in its final phase.
You can then put new waste in the then empty container, the now full container is ready for removal of the finished compost a short time later.
Tip 5: Keep moist but not wet
Always keep the compost moist. To test if this is moist enough, pick up a handful and squeeze. If it can be formed into a ball and the material no longer falls apart, it has the right moisture.