How To Use A Composter
Cut down on the amount of trash you are throwing away and provide your yard with a nutrient rich and organic fertiliser in one easy step. Follow VideoJug's guide on how to use a composter and you'll be saving money, yard work and the environment.
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You Will Need
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Step 1:
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Location
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One of the few main ingredients to make the perfect compost is heat. Try to find an easily accessible location which gets a consistent amount of sun and generates the heat needed to break down the scraps inside.
Not much sun where you live? Your composter will work without much light and even in colder temperatures. It will just take longer to break down the food and yard scraps inside.
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Step 2:
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Choose Your Composter
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Composters come in a variety of sizes and can cost up to several hundred dollars if you want to go for the best composter. Just remember one thing: compost happens no matter how tricked out you get.
You want to set yourself up with a composter that has a lid on the top to keep out unwanted pests and has an opening on the side or bottom to scoop out and rotate the compost.
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Step 3:
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Stuff It
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Once you have placed your new composter in an easily accessible location, take all your kitchen scraps and yard waste and dump them into your composter. You want to make sure you don't dump any oily foods, dairy or meat products. Stay away from dumping animal waste in there too – all these things can bring unwanted critters and flies to your composter. If you put in yard trimmings and grass clippings that contain a lot of moisture, this will help your compost break down even faster.
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Step 4:
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Turn It Over
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The warm sun and moisture will do most of the work on your new compost pile, but you will want to take your shovel or pitch fork and turn the pile every few weeks to help the larger materials break down even faster. You can compost all year round, but the warmer months will help your compost pile biodegrade even faster.
After a couple weeks, you will notice small organisms and bugs in your compost pile. These guys are the cheap labor working around the clock to break down your compost and provide you with an organic fertilizer you can use anywhere in your yard.
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Step 5:
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Sift And Shake
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Depending on how warm the weather is where you live, your compost could be ready in as little as 3 to 6 months. Open up the door on the bottom of your composter and you will see a dark, nutrient rich fertilizer that is called “humus”. Scoop out the humus and put it into a screen sifter. You can make your own sifter or purchase one. Sift and shake all the fresh compost into your garden or lawn. Now you can rest well knowing you are cutting down on your waste and keeping your yard healthy and pesticide free.