home composting

HOME COMPOSTING

A SIMPLE GUIDE TO REDUCE

YOUR WASTE

By:Daniela e Liane

WHAT IS COMPOSTING?

Compost is organic material that can be used

as a soil amendment or as a medium to grow

plants. Mature compost is a stable material

with a content called humus that is dark brown

or black and has a soil-like, earthy smell.

IT IS CREATED BY:

combining organic wastes (e.g., yard

trimmings, food wastes, manures)

adding agents (e.g., wood chips) as

necessary to accelerate the breakdown of

organic materials;

allowing the finished material to fully

stabilize through a curing process.

Yard Waste

TYPES OF COMPOSTING

Natural composting or biological

decomposition began with the first plants on

earth and has been going on ever since. As

vegetation falls to the ground, slowly decays,

providing minerals and nutrients needed for

plants, animals, and microorganisms.

TYPES OF COMPOSTING

Mature compost IS a complex organic

material that has been transformed into a

stable humus by microorganisms.

It gives plants an advantage in increased nutrients and water availability and reduces disease pressures.

DID YOU KNOW THAT COMPOST CAN…

Suppress plant diseases and pests.

Reduce or eliminate the need for chemical

fertilizers.

Facilitate reforestation.

WHAT TO COMPOST

Animal manure

Clean paper

Coffee grounds and filters

Eggshells

Fireplace ashes

Fruits and vegetables

Hair and fur Yard trimmings

Houseplants

Leaves

Nut shells

newspapers

Tea bags

Wood chips

Wool rags

etc

WHAT NOT TO COMPOST

LEAVE OUT:

1. Black walnut tree leaves or twigs

2. Coal or charcoal ash plants : Might contain

substances harmful to plants

3. Dairy products (e.g., butter, egg yolks, milk,

sour cream, yogurt)

4. Fats, grease, lard, or oils

5. Meat or fish bones and scraps : Create odor

problems and attract pests such as rodents

and flies

6. Pet wastes (e.g., dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter) : Might contain

parasites, bacteria, germs, pathogens, and viruses harmful to

humans

7. Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides : Might kill

beneficial composting organisms

8. Diseased or insect-ridden plants : Diseases or insects might

survive and be transferred back to other plants

A basic guide to composting

STEP 1 :

First select a spot to set up your bin. It should be out of

the way but convenient to reach with plenty of room to

work around. Some good places would be near your

garden or in a back corner of the yard. It is also a good

idea to choose a location close to a source of water.

A basic guide to composting

STEP 2

Now for the recipe for compost:

micro-organisms that recycle leaves and other plant

parts with a mix of brown stuff and green stuff. They

also need air and water to live and work. Put all this

together and in time you will have compost!

A basic guide to composting

Recipe Ingredients Recipe Ingredients

Air Water

Brown stuff Green stuff

A basic guide to composting

Brown stuff is dead, dried plant parts like leaves and pine needles. Brown stuff is high in the element carbon.

Green stuff is fresh, living parts like grass clippings, kitchen vegetable scraps, weeds and other plants. Green stuff is high in the element nitrogen.

A basic guide to composting

Don't Use Don't use meat, milk products because

pets and other animals may try to dig them up out of your compost bin.

Also don't use diseased garden plants. They can spread disease back into the garden later when you use the compost.

A basic guide to composting

Step 3

This is the easiest way to build our compost bin in

layers of ingredients:

Start with the brown stuff by spreading a layer of

leaves or pine needles.

A basic guide to composting

STEP 4

Next, for the green stuff, add a layer of grass clippings.

It is helpful to mix the layers up a little as you make them.

A basic guide to omposting

STEP 5

Sprinkle a shovelful of soil or compost to add microorganisms to the bin.

A basic guide to composting

STEP 6 Each layer gets a good sprinkling of water to wet the

ingredients. It is important to wet each layer as you

build it. Repeat each of the layers until the bin is full.

A basic guide to composting

STEP 7 - Finished Bin!

The microorganisms will go to work breaking down the

ingredients into humus. If you want faster compost.

you can mix the ingredients every few weeks but this

isn't necessary.

A basic guide to composting

FINAL RESULT:

This is compost! the dark, earthy-

smelling stuff is rich in nutrients.

Plants love it! Let's talk about how

to use compost to help plants grow.

Handful of Compost

A basic guide to composting

Use Compost as Mulch

You can use compost as a mulch around garden plants. Mulch protects the soil and shades out weed seeds.

Nutrients are washed out into the soil with each rain to feed the roots of plants.

TYPES OF BINS

Thanks for watching

The Portuguese team:

Prof. Rute Barroca Daniela Bernardo

Liane Burger