How to Make Compost in 14 Days
Kitchen compost offers nutrients to your garden soil, whether you're planting edibles or ornamentals. Compost is also the base material for vermicompost, which is essentially earthworm castings and composted wastes. Making compost in two weeks, or 14 days, is easy when you have the right materials. Quick composting gives you a head start in preparing your garden soil, especially if your region experiences a short growing season. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Plastic garbage can with lid
- Kitchen waste
- Organic garden soil
- Earthworms
Instructions
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Select a garbage can of about 10 to 20 gallons in size. This should be big enough to make plenty of compost for a family-sized garden. Add about 3 lbs. of kitchen waste to the container. Kitchen waste includes plant matter, egg shells, coffee grounds and tea bags -- never meat or bread products.
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Cover the kitchen waste with an 8-inch layer of organic garden soil, which can be found in garden supply shops.
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Add a pound of red wriggler earthworms to the soil. These earthworms nourish the soil and munch on the dirt and kitchen wastes to create natural fertilizer. This eliminates the need for animal-based fertilizers such as cow manure. These worms also aide in breaking down the kitchen wastes and soil quickly, making it easier to create the compost in 14 days.
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Cover the earthworms with an inch-thick layer of soil.
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Cover the plastic garbage can with its lid. Poke several tiny holes into the lid. This provides aeration to speed up the decaying process of the kitchen waste to make compost. Uncover the garbage can after seven days and let it remain uncovered for the final seven days. Then the rich worm compost should be ready for use in your garden.
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Tips & Warnings
You can also add grass clippings and other botanical materials to the compost bin.
References
Resources
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