Making your own compost is a vital aspect to growing an organic garden. The right compost will effectively introduce bacteria, worms, and insects which all encourage robust plant growth. It also prevents weed growth, reduces, evaporation, and insulates the soil. Here are few steps you can take to make your own compost today.
Gather the materials that you will use to make your own compost. This could include a compilation of leaves, fruit and vegetable scraps, straw, grass clippings, wood chips, small twigs and/or animal manure.
Decide where you're going to store your compost. You can use a hole in the ground, a well-ventilated barrel, or you can simply form it into a pile on the ground.
Begin your compost with a layer of brush a few inches deep. Be sure to use small twigs and not large branches.
Add a layer of mixed plant material. At this point, you can enhance your pile with cow or horse manure if you'd like.
Lightly water your pile and moisten it evenly. Too little water will interfere with fermentation and too much water won't allow your pile to air out properly.
Alternate layers until the pile reaches your desired height and width. The goal here is to keep your pile loosley packed and well aerated so that is reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit within a couple of days.
Wait three weeks and then use a spading fork to dig into the pile and turn it over, redistributing the contents. Turn it again after five more weeks.