Composting is easier if you have a few composting tools on hand. Compost is the secret ingredient for microbe-rich soil and is a smart green way to reuse debris from your kitchen and landscape instead of throwing it in the landfill. How a pile of old lawn clippings, leaves, or kitchen scraps transforms into beautiful compost is through aerobic bacteria becoming active and alive in the pile and breaking it down.
Speed Up Composting
Speeding up the composting process is as easy as turning the compost regularly. While you can compost in all four seasons, composting will cycle and break down most quickly in the summer heat. Below are a few composting tools to help you speed up the compost conversion.
Problem #1 – Turning the compost is difficult.
Sometimes placing a shovel into a composter means that the force of the shovel against the side of the composter will physically crack the compost unit. Plus, it is difficult for homeowners to use a shovel for this process because cooking compost is often damp and heavy. If you get a Compost Crank tool, you can spin the compost crank down into the pile, then gently pull up, relocating the compost material. Essentially the action of the tool is “screwing” downward. The crank tool is easy to use and works well for compost manipulation.
Problem #2 – Compost is not getting hot enough.
If your composter is in a shady spot or the weather is extremely cool through the summer and fall, it can take a much longer time to transform your kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, and leaves into compost. Composting needs heat and moisture in order to work effectively. In order to help the compost along, you can get an OMRI certified microbial stimulant for the compost. This is sometimes labeled as “compost starter” or “compost accelerator”. Every time you add a layer of waste, be sure to add a sprinkle of the compost starter to the pile and watch the compost transition more quickly.
Use the clippings from the landscape to create your own soil – compost is an amazing amendment in the garden and can save money for homeowners.
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