By Harshita Mathur
Tips to create a ‘green’ mindset from within your household, encouraging your children to grow into environmentally responsible adults.
How to Compost: A Step-by-Step guide
Composting is a process by which you convert leftover food into nutritious soil and use it in gardening practices. Households with plenty of garden space can especially make use of this to reduce waste and improve the health of their gardens simultaneously.
You will need:
- Around a meter squared of space in your back yard to
set up your composter
- A composter – you can make these yourself or
buy one at a gardening store
- Something to move around the materials in
your composter – a pitchfork is perfect!
- Kitchen scraps which can be broken down into
two main types of composting materials [1]:
1. Greens
Tea bags
Grass cuttings
Vegetable peelings, salad leaves, fruit scraps
Old flowers, plants and weeds
2. Browns
Cardboard
Egg boxes, paper
Fallen leaves, sawdust
Twigs, branches and tree bark
First…
- Set up your composting station! Pick a location, ideally in partial sunlight and on bare soil where the process won’t be interrupted by external factors.
- Keep aside a pitchfork and a container (sealable) in which to carry kitchen materials to the station
Next…
- Prepare your composting materials! Out of the “Greens” and “Browns” listed above, try to cut / break down the material into smaller pieces so that it can decompose faster
- Mix these scraps in the sealable container set aside (make sure you don’t mix in cooked food, or any meat)
- Put these items into your compost bin – you can keep adding material to the mixture as you have more scraps!
- Add water [2] (to keep it moist, but not too wet) and keep mixing the material together with a pitchfork
Lastly…
- Patience is a virtue! Wait at least 7-8 months, though ideally between 9 – 12 months is when the compost is ready to use. You can tell once the compost material has become dark and thick
- Place the newly formed compost onto your lawns, using it as a fertilizer. Spreading out the compost, allowing it to get more air is recommended for good results
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