Aerated, alternately layered, moistened, small-sized, week-turned recyclables in ratios of 30 carbon-rich compostables to 1 nitrogen-rich compostable are materials that will break down in compost bins. The small sizes facilitate consumption and excretion by macro- and micro-organisms. Carbon jump-starts the necessary energy behind decomposition and re-formation as dark-colored, fresh-smelling, nutrient-rich organic matter called compost or humus while nitrogen provides the food sources.
Once to thrice weekly is the frequency with which compost is turned in a bin. The frequency responds to the bin's size and the compost-minded individual's schedule. Compostable materials whose layers are turned once weekly take longer to break down than those that are turned two or three times each week.
That the contents break down to their most basic form is the reason why the mass of a compost bin decreases. The composting process reduces compounds to elements through the interaction of carbon- and nitrogen-rich recyclable materials with air, heat, light, micro-organisms, and moisture.
You can put anything into the compost that will break down. Typically, you want to avoid plastic, rocks, bones, glass and large chunks of matter. The smaller the pieces, the faster it will break down.
A compost keeper is someone who keeps the vegetable type scraps from meals and every day use, gathers the left overs in a special compost bin, over time the contents of the bin break down and eventually turns into compost that can be used in your garden.
a bin that holds all natural resources and lets the contents break down from developing bacteria so it turns to soil. (great for plants!)
a bin that holds all Natural Resources and lets the contents break down from developing bacteria so it turns to soil. (great for plants!)
Concentration, confinement, and containment of recyclable materials while they break down into dark-colored, fresh-smelling, nutrient-rich organic matter are the purposes which a compost bin serves. The container clusters the materials and the processes into a truly protective shelter from such disruptions as foragers and inclement weather. As long as proper procedure is followed with proper materials, the bin will produce humus for use as amendments, fertilizers, and mulches within a year or less, depending upon frequency of aeration and quantity and type of recyclables.
Matter compiled in the bin will decompose into compost provided the conditions are met for a healthy Eco-system to develop in the materials. The matter should have a healthy ratio of green to brown materials. The living materials contain microscopic organisms which struggle to survive within the soil. The matter is recycled in the compost bin as the microscopic organisms evolve into more advanced, larger scale critters. They feast on the composting materials and propagate their race inside your Eco-system, i.et Your compost bin. As the materials pass through the insects body the materials become healthy soil.
Yes, maggots are among the organisms that may be found in compost bins. The insects in question represent a larval stage that consumes nitrogen-rich layers of compostables and recyclables and helps break down organic matter. The larvae mature into soldier flies (Stratiomyidae family) that encourage beneficial bacterial presences in compost bins.
That it breaks down materials in one form so that they can be used in another accounts for one reason why a compost bin is considered self-sustaining. A compost bin contains materials, such as kitchen scraps and yard debris, that no longer can or will be used in their existing forms and that may be carted off to landfills or recycled on location into soil amendments, fertilizers and mulches. It discourages additional efforts and expenses off location and, by transforming trashable materials into soil food web enhancers, encourages a continuous cycle of plant growth, product harvest, recycling as compost, plant growth, etc.
Turning is not necessary, but it does make the ingredients break down much, MUCH faster.
It is best to have the bin in the sun so that it gets the most heat. Heat is needed to brake down yard waste into compost.