There are so many reasons to create and use compost! Compost reduces your need for chemical fertilizers, enriches your soil and can even inhibit pests and diseases that might threaten your plants, trees and garden. However, the composting process can take quite a while, which is we recommend using our compost activator, Dr. Connie’s Compost Plus.
Compost Plus is an all-natural compost activator that contains no chemicals and is 100 times more concentrated than the leading brand of compost accelerator. It’s easy to use and naturally accelerates the decomposition of garden matter, leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps transforming it all into nutrient-rich compost.
Different Types of Composting
When you create your compost heap or bin, you can opt for aerobic composting, anaerobic composting and vermicomposting. Let’s take a look at these three options.
Aerobic Composting – In order for compost to develop, you need to add air consistently. This is why people head outside and mix up their compost at least once each week. With a tumbler, you can just aerate the compost by spinning the tumbler handle.
Water also will need to be added but be sure not to soak your compost. Damp compost is good, soggy compost is not. If your compost is too wet, you can shredded-up newspaper or cardboard or dry leaves, hay and straw to the compost to help soak up some of the moisture.
Anaerobic Composting – In general, this is not a great option and is more of a cautionary tale. With anerobic composting, this simply means you just toss a bunch of scraps, leaves and other items into a big pile or compost bin and just let it sit there for many months.
Not only will this take an incredibly long time to break down, but it also tends to smell terrible. Healthy compost has a rich, earthy smell, and while it might be tempting to just let the scraps sit in a bin and leave it alone, this is definitely not the fastest or best way to create compost. It likely also will attract a variety of unwanted pests.
Vermicomposting – With this type of composting we still utilize the power of oxygen and moisture, but we also add worms to facilitate the breakdown of organic matter. With vermicomposting, you also will want to add items such as shredded newspaper or egg cartons and bits of clean cardboard to the pile, especially if you notice that the pile is too damp.
With worm-based composting, you also should not add pet waste or anything oily or greasy. This includes dairy products and meat scraps. It’s also wise to limit the number of citrus scraps, onion scraps and garlic in the bin. Worm composting can be a bit more complicated than simply creating an aerobic compost heap, but worms can help make excellent compost, which is why some people opt for vermicomposting.
How To Get Started
Our compost activator can be used in a compost bin or a compost heap. You can use trash cans, large metal tubs or large plastic storage containers to make a compost bin, but there are compost tumblers available that make it easy to mix up your compost.
You also can build a large stationary wood bin on your property to hold compost with either three or four sides and this can be one of the best ways to create compost. With any kind of compost bin, it is recommended that you place the bin or heap several feet or yards from your house to ensure that any smells from the bin don’t affect the air quality in your home. Although our compost activator will help to reduce any smells.
With a compost heap or a wood bin, you will want to clear a space to expose the soil. Then add a layer of straw at the bottom, although twigs also can be used in place of straw. From there you will want to begin layering on different types of materials, usually typically called “greens” and “browns.”
Greens are the damp nitrogen-rich ingredients in your compost heap, including fresh grass clippings and plant clippings, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps and fruit scraps. The browns will be drier organic materials such as twigs, autumn leaves, sawdust, cardboard, etc. Typically, you want a good balance of greens and browns, with about 3 parts of brown materials to 1 part of green materials.
Once you’ve layered the pile, sprinkle on some of our Compost Plus (4 tablespoons per cubic yard of organic waste). You will need to sprinkle on enough water to dissolve the compost accelerator, but do not soak the pile.
At that point, we recommend turning the compost pile once or twice per week to ensure that the pile has enough oxygen. When you add new layers of organic waste, simply sprinkle on some more of our compost additive and, again, add enough water to dissolve the product.
How To Use Finished Compost
Finished compost can be used throughout your yard in flower beds and around trees and shrubs. If the compost contains no animal waste, this can be used to add nutrients to your vegetable garden soil, as well.
Additionally, you can brew compost tea and use the tea to water houseplants and flowers in your yard. Again, if your compost does not contain animal waste, you also can use it to water your vegetable garden.
Shop Online For Dr. Connie’s Compost Plus
In addition to our compost activator, our all-natural line of Dr. Connie’s products includes a septic tank treatment, a lawn care treatment and products to help enhance the growth of your flower and veggie garden as well as fruit and shade trees. If you have any questions about Compost Plus or our other natural products, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
