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Ingredients to avoid:
Any chemically treated plants, wood or lawn trimmings,
diseased plants, human waste, meat, bones, fatty food waste, weeds
that have gone to seed, pet wastes.
Does your compost smell
bad? A compost heap will harbor both aerobic and
anaerobic microbes. Both of these little critters do the work, but
the anaerobes create a grand funk in the process. To prevent
them from taking over the pile, make sure plenty of air gets in
there. You can fluff the pile by turning it or introduce air
by regularly poking holes from top to bottom.
Give it a drink!
Help those microbes work their best by making sure they
have enough water. Ideally, your compost heap should be about
as wet as a well wrung sponge.
How do I know when it's
done? That depends. What was a pile of plant material
will gradually, from the bottom up, turn into a pile of dark stuff
that looks like brown dirt. Eventually, none of the items
you put in there will be recognizable. If you're using it
out in the garden, a few small recognizable bits won't hurt - they'll
finish composting in the garden. If you're using it for houseplants
or to start seeds, it's better to wait until it's well finished
so you don't have microbes attacking the fine rootlets of new plants.
Compost tea You
can give your house or garden plants a boost with a cup of compost
tea. Mix equal parts of compost and water and let sit for
a few hours. Pour the resulting liquid directly onto the soil.
The compost left at the bottom can be reused for several batches
of tea and then returned to the compost bin or put directly on the
soil in your garden. For use with young seedlings, make a
much weaker tea with 4 parts water to 1 part compost.
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