Importance of Composting at Home
Author: Aqua Gardening
Date: 28 September 2022

Importance of Composting at Home

Composting can be an exciting project; you can learn much about the decomposition process and microbial activities.

Compost has a well-balanced concentration of macro and micronutrients. Moreover, it is also rich in beneficial microbes that can improve the overall soil quality and boost plant growth. You can easily make your own compost at home by using kitchen waste with the help of a compost bin. If you don't have a garden or sufficient space, you can use the Bokashi bin to make it.

Composting at home will:

  • Create more living earth in your garden or boost your plants when you later use the castings
  • Save your money, energy, time and space.
  • Reduce the total volume of bin bags as a significant part will be used for composting.
  • Possibility of decreasing carbon footprints.
  • You won't need to be dependent on chemical fertilisers for growing plants.
  • If too much compost is produced, you can sell it.
     

Garden Composting vs. Apartment Composting

Composting at home is an easy task. If you have a garden, you only have to pick a location for your composting system, use a compost bin or directly dump all the wastes in the soil and wait until it turns into compost. During the composting process, microbes become very active and decompose the wastes using oxygen, so the air inside the pile lacks it, and the compost pile becomes hot (above 160-degree Fahrenheit). When composting, you should turn over or mix up the pile to supply air and reduce the temperature the entire time.

Composting in an apartment sometimes lacks sufficient space, but it is not impossible. Buy a compost bin and follow the same guidelines. However, in this case, you should keep enough space in the pile for mixing. If you can adequately manage the system, it will not attract any pests or insects. See Bokashi’s benchtop units perfect for apartments
 

Use of Compost with or without Soil in the Garden

There is a common belief that plants grown solely in compost can perform better than those growing in the mix of soil and compost. It is not true. Although using compost provides an excellent result and is beneficial while mixed with soil. Using it alone can create problems:

  1. Compost drains out faster than soil; hence, plant roots cannot absorb sufficient water.
  2. Compost has excellent porosity, but the entire medium will shrink after receiving water.
  3. Compost will not supply trace elements to your plants found in the soil system.

Therefore, gardeners should always mix soil and compost while growing plants.

 

Risks of using Homemade Compost of Worm Juice on the Plants

The liquid form of compost or vermicompost is known as compost or worm juice. You can also call it compost tea. Although applying the liquid form allows the plants to absorb the nutrients faster, it can be risky if you forget to dilute the liquid. Potent liquid fertiliser can cause toxicity and burn the leaves.