How to make your very own Family Compost.

To start. What is composting? Composting is a process as old as farming itself.  It involves the enrichment and restoration of soil through the breakdown of used organic materials.  It is a great way to keep your soil healthy, limit household waste and to improve our environment!  And the best part is that it is very easy!  With Earth Day just around the corner, constructing your family’s own household compost is a great project that can teach your children valuable lessons about being kind to their planet.

Here is what you’ll need:

1. A plot for your compost: Pick a spot that gets plenty of sunlight
2. A Container:  Keep it rough! Wooden crates or wire fencing work great.
3. • Equal parts “brown” and “green” organic waste.
4. Water
5. Shovel

And here is how you will do it

1.  Layer the bottom of your compost with straw, hay or dried sticks.  This will increase ventilation.

2. Add in an equal mixture of your green and brown ingredients. (see below)

3. Make sure your compost is about as damp as a wrung-out rag by mixing in some water.  If you live in a damp climate you can simply allow rain to do the work for you.

4. Mix the compost pile with a shovel or pitchfork every one or two weeks.  Continue to add your ingredients.

5. In 1-2 months collect the results of your hard work which should be a dark soil that smells like fresh earth.

Some Tips:

Odor Management: Remember that composts are decomposing organic waste and tend to be a little smelly, so keep the area far enough away from your house).

Give Bugs Some Room: Remember to hollow out the bottom of your container.  This will allow worms and bugs to enter through the bottom and provide increased ventilation to the compost.

Equal Opportunity Compost: Spread equal parts Browns  (fall leaves, old flowers, dead plants and weeds, hay, sawdust straw, small dried sticks) and Greens (young weeds, cut grass, fruit/veggie scraps, egg shells, tea leaves. )

But it On Amazon: If you want to get started right away, you can buy everything on Amazon and shipped directly to your door. (no this is not an endorsement). You can get the starting fertilizer, stainless steel bin for your kitchen scraps, and the tumbler to compost in.

Watch How To On Youtube: CLICK HERE

Add this super-nutrient rich soil to regular planting soil to help your plants grow big and tall!  It also makes a wonderful gift for your green-thumbed friends.