Making your own compost doesn’t only help reduce trash thrown away into landfills but also aids in keeping prettier flowers, bigger produce, and a healthy garden.

It also doesn’t cost you a penny to create one. What it needs is your time, effort, and patience to achieve nutrient-rich compost.

To help you make one at home, we’ll discuss how to do both indoor and outdoor composting properly in this article.

Why Make Your Own Compost?

One great advantage of making your own compost is you know what's in it.

You're fully aware of the types of food or waste you throw in the compost pile or bin and 100% sure that it doesn't contain any unwanted mixture.

You'll ensure to have a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer that you can use for your garden.

Also, you’ll maximize the use of trash at home by having something to look forward to when the compost is ready.

What Can You Compost?

Pasta, Leaves, Matches (One image/collage)

Trash used for compost doesn't always mean food.

There are also other items that you can add to your pile, but let's start with food first:

• Used tea bags
• Coffee filters or grounds
• Pasta, grains, or bread
• Eggshells
• Mushroom scraps
• Fruit or vegetable peels

Yard

• Sawdust
• Wood ash
• Leaves
• Grass

Others

• Cut flowers
• Matches
• Toothpicks
• Paper bags (brown)
• Nail clippings
• Hair
• Dryer lint
• Cardboard
• Newspaper

What Can’t You Compost?

Dairy, Animal bones, Coal Ash (One image/collage)

Some biodegradable materials like dairy aren't ideal for composting, because they invite pests and will smell.

You can simply throw them away into your garbage bin.

One more thing to remember is not to include plants with diseases or pests because they will contaminate your compost.

Here's the list of items you shouldn't include in your compost:

• Egg yolks or whites
• Dairy
• Meat
• Animal bones
• Coal ash
• Diseased plants
• Oils and fats
• Pet waste
• Grease

How to Compost Outdoors

Composting outdoors is extremely common, and knowing the proper way to do it is key to achieving nutrient-rich soil.

Follow these steps to do it:

1. Build Your Compost Area

If you're planning to create a compost pile, it's best to have it in an open area, ideally, with a 3-square-feet zone.

Scatter some straw or twigs in it to create proper drainage and aeration.

It's also important to create fencing to protect your pile from animals that may scatter or feed on it.

2. Create a Good Balance of Brown and Green Materials

Having a good balance of brown and green materials is ideal whether you're building a compost pile or bin.

The brown materials, such as dry leaves or sticks, are abundant in carbon, which microorganisms need to break down the organic matter.

On the other hand, green materials, such as fresh plant waste, provide nitrogen, which aids in the growth of plants.

Ideally, the ratio should be two-thirds brown, one-third green.

3. Make Sure to Moisten the Pile

Rain helps hydrate the compost you're creating, but if it doesn't pour much, you need to water the pile.

You can add wet materials to the compost, but make sure you're only damping and not soaking it.

If rain is frequent in your area, you need to secure a cover for your pile, so it’s not soaked.

You can use a loose tarp as a cover.

4. Turn Your Compost Regularly

Turning your compost helps in allowing proper oxygen in the pile.

Stir and rotate it every 2-4 weeks.

If you don't practice this, your compost will start to smell and rot.

It's also essential to ensure that the center of your compost is warm, at 130-150 degrees Fahrenheit.

You'll know that the compost is ready when it stops producing heat and looks powdery like soil.

How to Compost Indoors

If you're living in a house with no backyard or in an apartment, you can definitely create compost.

Just set a container for your trash in your kitchen and start saving organic items.

Here's what you need:

1. Have a Compost Bin with a Lid

It doesn't matter if you'll be using a stainless steel or plastic bin. Just make sure it has a lid, so pests won’t feed on the organic matter.


2. Use a Biodegradable Bag in the Bin

Never use plastic bags from the grocery store, because they are not biodegradable.

Biodegradable bags support the decomposition of your compost.


3. Keep a Full Compost Bag in the Freezer

Keeping a compost bag full of organic matter in the freezer helps remove odor, pause active decomposition, and buys time if you’re not yet ready to use the organic soil.

Once the bin reaches its capacity, seal the bag immediately and put it in the freezer.

How to Boost the Decomposition of Your Compost Quickly and Easily

Although you have steps to help decompose your compost properly, you can always use an organic product that speeds up the breakdown of your brown and green materials.

Worm casting tea is increasingly gaining popularity in the gardening world as it quickens the decomposition in an organic and healthy way.

But where do you get worm tea fertilizer?

PetraTools has it! Our worm tea for plants is formulated with earthworm-casting extracts that help beneficial microorganisms break down organic matter quickly.

You’d be surprised to see your compost pile decompose sooner than expected.

The solution should be sprayed on your compost easily and accurately with the help of any PetraTools sprayer!

Choose from our line of backpack sprayers, such as HD4000, HD3000, LT-PRO, HD4100, HD4050, and HD5000, as they provide many spraying benefits, including convenience, ease of use, and multiple nozzle options.

Create Your Own Compost at Home Now!

If you haven’t planned on creating your own compost yet, now is the time to do it, because your plants need an organic boost to yield bigger produce and bountiful flowers.

Use our worm compost tea to help your compost decompose fast. It’s healthy and organic, so it’s ideal for your plants.

So, visit our website or Amazon store to buy our products, and don’t forget to include a sprayer when you check out!