Making Compost Fertilizer at Home

Making compost fertilizer at home is a great practice that contributes to both the environment and your health. You can use the organic waste in your garbage bin to make a natural fertilizer and give it to the plants you grow in your garden or balcony. Thus, you will both reduce the amount of garbage and provide your plants with natural nutrition without using chemical fertilizers. 

Ingredients

Fruit and vegetable peels

Leaves

Coffee grounds

Egg shells

Paper (such as newspaper or cardboard)

Garden waste (grass cuttings, plant stems, etc.)

Compost bin or area

Step 1: Collecting Materials 

Collect organic waste such as peels, seeds and casings from fruits and vegetables used in the kitchen. You can also collect what is in your garden or in your neighborhood. These ingredients will make up the compost. Over time, you will notice a reduction of at least 40-50 percent of the garbage you throw away. 

Step 2: Choosing the Compost Bin 

You will need a composting or aeration area. If you use composting aerators, they provide a convenient corner in your garden. If you are going to aerate, you can use a compost bin with holes that allow air circulation. If you don’t have a compost bin, don’t worry, you can also make use of waste items such as bins, bottles and buckets in your neighborhood. 

Step 3: Building Layers 

Arrange the layers as if you were making a cake. When composting, balance the green, brown and orange colors so that your compost is of better quality. Add fruit and vegetable waste and garden scraps as green materials (garden twine, tree leaves), paper products (newspaper or cardboard) as brown materials, celebrating and coffee grounds. The green materials decompose rapidly to collect nitrogen, while the brown materials decompose rapidly to collect carbon, which is dispersed to form compost.

Step 4: Mixing and Moisture Control 

Aerate the compost regularly in sections. This helps microorganisms and worms to decompose the materials faster. Also check the moisture level of the compost. Ideally, it should be moist, like a damp sponge. If it dries out you can water it, if it is too wet it can benefit from more brown material.

Step 5: Patience and Waiting 

The compost is playable. This process takes a few weeks to several months. Expect to complete natural thawing and separation.

Step 6: Use 

Your compost is a dark-colored, winding and odorless material to have on hand. You can use this compost with the soil in your garden or on your potted plants. You can use this compost to fertilize your plants and enrich your air.

Making compost fertilizer at home not only allows you to utilize waste, but also helps you to create a natural source of fertilizer. It contributes to a sustainable lifestyle and at the same time offers the opportunity to grow healthy plants. 

As in the example of cakes and pastries, we wait for our household wastes to cook like desserts in the oven. Make sure to mix it from time to time. It can be once a week. Keep moisturizing if it is too dry. You will see that the smell of garbage is gone. The miracle of nature has realized itself. Our fertilizer has started to form. Now it’s time to grow crops with this fertilizer.