How to Make Organic Compost Fertilizer at Home

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Compost acts as natural fertilizer. Why the plants in the forest grow so healthy? Because naturally producing compost provides essential nutrients to the plants so that are fertile. Actually compost help plants to reach optimum level.

So you also can apply compost fertilizer to your plants. Making compost is not difficult. You can make compost at your home. By reading this guide, you will be able to know, How To Make Compost Fertilizer At Home.

How To Make Compost Fertilizer At Home | Beginners Guide

What is compost?

Compost is the decomposed natural materials like green matters and brown matters using water and air. All those break down naturally. The compost is really help to improve the soil quality because it contains important nutrients. The recycled materials have a sweet and earthy smell. Every gardener use compost to keep their plants healthy.

Making compost is really simple within short time period. Take advantage of your household wastes. Place the labelled bin. Then you can make compost from using suitable materials. Some may feel that they do not have enough space to make compost pile. It is not issue. It can be made outdoor as well as indoor. It may be important for everyone to know how to make compost.

Why compost is important?

First of all, let’s see what kind of benefits can be obtained from compost. Actually there are so many benefits of compost. It really helps to enrich the soil quality. So this is better to use for plants in order to keep healthy. Lot of nutrients contained in compost will help to prevent from many diseases that infect to the plants. The compost can be used even for different species of plants.

Beneficial microorganisms need to maintain a rich soil. Then compost allows to introduce those microorganisms into the soil. Earthworms can often be found in successful fertile compost.

Instead of spending more money to buy synthetic fertilizers, compost is really cheap because yard wastes, kitchen wastes etc. can use for that. So there is no any expenses.

What do need to make compost?

There are 4 main ingredients that use to make compost well such as,

Green matters
Brown matters
Water
Air

Green matters are high in nitrogen and brown matters are high in carbon. Various types of matters include different portions of nitrogen and carbon. Both nutrients are useful to make good soil. Grass clippings, fresh leaves, vegetable and fruit wastes and used coffee grounds are some of green matters. The brown matters are dried leaves and branches, woody stems, sawdust, cardboard and newspapers etc.

Water is essential to retain moisture in the soil. Enough water need to decompose above ingredients quickly. However overwatering is harmful to make good compost. It will also cause to create unpleasant smell. Lack of watering also cause to slow decomposition. So make sure to provide right amount of water to the compost pile. It does not issue to use rain water or wastewater.

Air is vital to enter oxygen into compost pile.

You learnt about basics of compost. Then let’s see how to make it. There are different ways of making compost this easiest way is suitable to everyone and usually this is general method of making compost.

What are the steps of making compost fertilizer?

There are 6 steps of making compost fertilizer at home. Everyone can easily make fertile compost by following the steps below.

Step 1 – Select a spot to make compost pile.

It is better to choose enough space to make compost pile. A slightly shady place is good for it. Clean the selected place. You can create your compost pile in round shape or square shape. It is great to use wooden straps to cover it. The size is depend on how much materials you put in there. Normally it is good to be deep. That brings natural look to the garden. If you haven’t enough space to make outdoor compost pile, you can also use compost bin. You can buy variety of compost bins from garden stores.

Step 2 – Add materials and fill the compost pile or bin.

You can add above mentioned green and brown materials into the pile. Those two things should be add equally. It is important to make sure to use green or brown matters that they are free of pesticides. It is very important to add brown materials that’s why it helps to keep the pile slightly dry.

Tree branches take time to decompose rather than grass so that break them into small pieces then add to the compost pile.

What can use for compost?

In general, let’s look at what can use for compost. Organic materials are best to use for compost.

Glass clippings
Tree leaves (Fresh or dry)
Kitchen scraps (Vegetable or fruit scraps)
Dead or dried branches
Animal manure (Cow dung etc.)
Eggshells
Straw
Wood chips and Sawdust
Shredded newspapers
Tissues

What should not use for compost?

Some materials cause to meet bacteria, pests and create unpleasant smell.

Meat or Fish
Dairy products
Dog or cat manure
Glossy cardboard

Step 3 – Keep the compost pile moist.

Water is essential to make rich compost. Don’t allow it to too much dry. Add some water and keep moisture. The compost pile does not need to cover. But covering helps to retain moisture. Recommend to use black material to cover your compost pile.

Why the compost pile needs to be moist?

It is very important to keep the compost moist. This is because the microorganisms and other beneficial worms help to make fertile compost. They need enough moisture to survive. Then they make decomposition faster and easier. Keep in mind to avoid over-wetting the compost pile. If it gets too wet, you can see that the worms are sticking a lot. There will also be an unpleasant odor. When the compost pile is too wet, use brown matters that absorb moisture well. On the other hand, over-drying slows down composting. Then it will take a long time. So good results can be obtained by maintaining the required compost moisture.

Step 4 – Mix the pile.

The compost pile should mix well. Loosen the leaf litter by using garden fork. Mix the upper level ingredients with lower level ingredients.

Why need to turn the compost pile?

Turning the compost is essential because it speeds up the decomposition of the materials. The air can circulate properly through compost by turning. If not turned, it will take a long time to make compost as the air will be difficult to circulate well. It would be nice if you could turn the compost pile around once a week.

Step 5 – Maintain the compost pile.

Check your compost pile and providing some water and mix the materials well is essential to gain rich compost. When you feel the pile is going to dry out too much, add some water. When you feel your compost pile is too wet, you can add brown matters that help to absorb moisture.

Step 6 – Use the compost.

Your compost pile is in good condition over time. When the soil turn into dark brown, your rich compost soil is ready to use. By mixing, you can be determined whether it is suitable to use. Take all completed compost from compost pile or bin. Use shovel to take the compost and then you can add compost layer to your all plants.

How to apply compost fertilizer to plants?

You can mix it with the soil and supply it to the plants. Usually a thick layer about 3 to 4 inches layer apply to the top of soil and spread around the plant. The compost layer can be also applied to the potted plants.

Watch What is the different between soil and compost? | Video

Top 5 FAQs & answers related to How to make compost fertilizer at home

Can plants grow in compost without soil?

No. It is not so appropriate. This is because if only compost is used, the water will drain well and dry out quickly. Retention of the moisture is very important to grow the plants well. Therefore mixing with soil is very important to retain moisture and keep the plant healthy.

How long take to make compost?

It depends on the size of compost pile, types of materials used as well as number of the time turned the compost pile. At least 3 months take to make a finished small compost pile because it need more time to decompose. Chopped and shredded materials break down quickly and turning the compost is also important to speed the mature compost.

Can coffee grounds use for compost?

Yes. Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen source for the composting. It helps to improve the water retention, drainage and aeration of the soil. Using coffee grounds with compost also encourage to attract worms and other beneficial microorganism for the plant growth.

Is good apply too much compost to plants?

No. Don’t apply too much compost for the plants. Too much compost can be harmful to keep the plant healthy. Soil quality can also be lost. So first, identify the nature of soil and determine the amount of compost applied. Too much compost contains higher phosphorus level so that the plant is difficult to absorb other nutrients like iron and manganese. Hence the plant healthiness may be reduced.

Is compost better than synthetic fertilizer?

Yes. Compost is really great because a good compost contains enough essential nutrients. It is suitable for the successful and healthy plant growth. You are also able to take non-toxic food from your garden.