Composting – What’s Old Is New Again

Something old is so very new today. What am I referring to? Composting, which dates back to at least the early Roman Empire, has become very popular with home gardeners. In modern times the easy availability of chemical fertilizers and community landfills took away the need for the old ‘compost heap’ that many families traditionally maintained.

Not only is composting back but it is more popular than ever. Many home gardeners, wanting to return to a more natural and healthy way of living, are starting their own backyard composting. Composting can be done on a very large or a very small scale depending upon the needs of the gardener. Also, once the basic setup has been done, very little time and effort are required to yield good results.

So, how do you get started? For the backyard gardener, you probably will not want to follow the old method of just piling on layers and layers of leaves, grass clippings, straw and weeds in a large heap. That large heap can quickly become unmanageable. Even though this method worked well for people with large amounts of land available, this doesn’t suit most backyard gardeners.

A compost bin is the best solution since it holds the materials together kompostownik z palet as well as allowing ventilation which will increase the efficiency of the decomposition process. A bin can be constructed from free or low-cost materials such as wooden pallets that many local businesses are happy to give away. Also wire fencing strung between wood or steel fence posts makes a low-cost, easy to construct compost bin. Keep in mind that to hasten the composting process, you will need to turn the compost as new materials are added to the top. This can be done with a pitch fork or shovel.

However, if you don’t want to construct the compost bin yourself, or if you want a system that is easier to maintain and produces compost much quicker, you might want to purchase a rotating or tumbling composter. These composters make it easy to turn or rotate the compost which speeds up the rate of decomposition. In fact, under ideal circumstances, your compost might be finished and ready for use in just one month! Compare that to the normal one to two years that the old compost heap methods might take.