All the compost ingredients are either carbon based or nitrogen based and only when they come together in the right quantity will you get the compost that is of best quality.
Plants are not grown with compost. Compost is one of the additives in the soil in which you are planning to grow plants and trees. It provides nutrition to the soil and leads to healthy growth of plants and garden. Soil in which compost is added will bear healthy plants, greener and healthier leaves, flowers, fruits etc.
Nitrogen rich items comprise manures like wheatgrass, buckwheat etc, food scraps, leftovers or lawn mowing, dry or green leaves etc which are raw materials for making enzymes. Whereas carbon rich items comprise branches, stems, dried leaves, fruit scraps and veggie peels, coffee filters, cuttings of wood, bark, peat moss, shredded newspapers or paper bags, corn stalks, conifer needles, straw, wood ash, etc which gives compost its body.
Once you have mixed all ingredients add activating agents to it to initiate the process which starts turning the so called garbage into compost. Some of the activating items could be comfrey leaves, grass clippings, weeds, etc.
When you start collecting and piling compost items in a bin you will notice flies and insects hovering on it. To avoid it every time after you add fruits, flowers or vegetable, cover it with twigs or grass cuttings. This will stop flies from buzzing around it. You can create top layer with lime or calcium to avoid flies. This layer also blocks the bad odour that develops and releases in the atmosphere when compost of getting made. Sometimes this foul odour is so strong that it becomes embarrassing if we are living in close or cluttered neighbourhood. Lime and calcium layer with some grass and twigs will help to eliminate this odour.
If you find your compost tumbler or area steaming and hot do not worry. It only means microscopic critters are active and working hard to turn your waste into organic compost.
If you find your compost drum become too soggy to control, this is especially common complaint during winters you can deal with it by simply adding more carbon based items in it.
Sometimes you may also find that moisture or dampness of two items have got them stuck together. This blocks oxygen and slows down the process of compost making. Whenever you come across these either with hep of fork, knife or sharp ladle break them apart or while throwing two wet things in compost bin make sure that they placed far from each other amid dry ingredients.
Remember this every important tip about placing your clay pot in which you are planning to make compost. If possible place it on the ground if not, place it on a larger clay pot filled with soil. What happens is when the process of compost making is underway extra water, moisture etc overflows from the main bin on the ground, if it falls on soil this soil will become very nutritional and bear high fertility. It is a double whammy for people who ensure that all the overflows from compost flows into soil. So while on one hand you have compost on the other you also have some highly nutritive soil ready to use.
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