This begins with washing and disinfection of your garden pots. Afterward, search for an area and have a small hole dug into the size of the pot. For better understanding, the steps are explained below:
1) Wash your garden pot and disinfect it too
2) Select an area of the garden where no person will walk on
3) Have a hole dug in the soil the size of the pot in the soil
4) After that, place the garden pot in the hole and proceed to backfill the soil around the sides of the pot
5) When that is done, fill the pot with a mix of food scraps, sugar cane mulch, or fall leaves and straw
6) The ingredients should be mixed together and a piece of cardboard, placed on top to cover. A bowl or a top tray can also be used in place of cardboard.
Water gets drained naturally through the bottom of the pot and fertilizes your soil. The pit can also be taken out of the ground and compost added to another area of the garden or you can simply backfill the hole with the compost and have the pot moved to a different place.
I) Direct Composting using a Worm Pot Composter
This is the easiest way to start composting in a garden. The pots here, are pre-made to easily bury in your backyard. Not only that, they are also pre-drilled with drainage holes and possess a tight-fitting lid.
Adding worms to your compost pot to successfully break down food scraps is not necessary. You just need to fill the pot with composting ingredients and within 3 – 6 months, you will have an excellent compost.
The advantage of using an in-ground worm composted is that they possess a tight-fitting lid which will help in keeping out pests. For garden pots, they are not easily covered due to the fact that they do not have a lid thus, having to make use of other options to cover the pots. You do not need to add worms as worms will get attracted to your compost pot from your garden soil.
You might also like:
- Garden Pots, buy on Amazon
- Germinating Tray, buy on Amazon
- Gardening Wheelbarrow, buy on Amazon
- Gardening Gloves, buy on Amazon
- Gardening clothes, buy on Amazon
II) Direct Composting in Pots in Raised Beds
Here, select a small pot most especially if you have a small garden bed so that less space is taken. Direct composting pots will get fitted neatly in the corner of your raised bed and you can easily lift the lid to add food scraps from your kitchen.
III) What to Put and What not to put in your Composting Pot
Natural ingredients from your kitchen should be put in your composting pot. Examples of materials that can be put in your composting pot include: hay, fall leaves, straw, old coffee grounds, e.t.c.
Chicken manure can also be used and adding chicken manure to your composting pot will kick start the microbial growth to break down your compost faster. Not only that, it helps to add extra nutrients so that your finished compost will get to be richer and more nutrient-dense for your garden. Materials such as meat, dairy products, cats/dogs excreta, fats or oils, e.t.c should not be put into your compost pot.
IV) Benefits of Composting in Pots
Composting in pots is not only easy and affordable, but it also comes with some other composting benefits which are mentioned below:
1) Less space is taken up compared to a regular compost bin
2) Not only can it be placed in the ground, but it can also be placed in raised garden beds
3) It gets to break down easily and also, attracts worms naturally
4) It requires low maintenance and also, involves low cost
5) Due to the size, it is easy to manage, and also, it helps to add nutrients to the soil when it rains
6) Composting in pots indirectly helps in reducing the kitchen wastes deposited at landfills.
Composting in pots can serve as a first step in creating a sustainable, closed-loop system in your backyard. Growing your own food, you can get to return any kitchen scrap to your compost pot so that it can break down to feed the soil. This compost will assist you in growing new fruit and vegetables.
Not only can direct composting be done in potted plants. It can also be done straight into the soil. The method involved here can be described as trench composting most especially when it is done in such a way that food scraps are composted directly into garden soil.
Here, as the compost ingredients break down, there can be a slight drop in the soil level which can be fixed by raking back mulch and topping with more compost or garden soil.
This method of composting simply serves as another way of composting food scraps in one’s backyard. The most important thing is to mix the green and brown ingredients first before putting in the hole. Examples of green ingredients include: grass clippings, coffee grounds, and food scraps and for the brown ingredients, they include: hay, stray, leaves, e.t.c.
Conclusion
Composting in potted plants is the simplest way to start composting at home and a garden pot can be used. Just place a cardboard lid on top of the pot and gill the pot with food scraps and other materials such as sugar cane mulch.
This article explains what you need to do for direct composting in potted plants. Note that making compost in a pot which is being buried in the ground is simply the simplest way to make a small compost in your garden or backyard.
This is because it requires very little effort. Apart from that, nobody will get to walk on it most especially if where it is placed is totally suitable and safe. If you have never carried out composting before, you can start using a small garden pot. Not only will you find it easier, but you will also be able to learn the basics of the art of composting.
