Buying compost can become very expensive, especially if you like planting new flowers. Why not use your lawn clippings and food waste to create a natural, chemical-free compost.
Here are the steps, to help you make the perfect compost heap!
- Start your compost pile on bare earth
- Lay twigs or straw first, a few inches deep – This aids drainage and helps aerate the pile.
- Add compost materials in layers, alternating moist and dry – Moist ingredients are food scraps, tea bags, seaweed, etc. Dry materials are straw, leaves, sawdust pellets and wood ashes.
- Add manure, grass clippings or any nitrogen source – This activates the compost pile and speeds the process along.
- Keep compost moist – Water occasionally, or let rain do the job.
- Cover with anything you have – wood, plastic sheeting, carpet scraps, this helps retain moisture and heat, two essentials for compost.
- Turn – Every few weeks give the pile a quick turn with a pitchfork or shovel.
