How to make Compost from Kitchen Waste

Generally, a large amount of waste or garbage comes out of our kitchen every day. Many people throw this kitchen waste outside the house without thinking about its proper use. The waste from the kitchen also causes a lot of damage to our environment.

Instead of throwing away kitchen waste, making compost from them will not only remove the wet waste from your house but you can also prepare compost for your plants. The biggest advantage of this compost is that it is completely organic.

Yes! Don’t just think of kitchen waste as garbage, with this, you can easily prepare organic manure for your plants at home without any cost. All you need is to know how to make compost from kitchen waste.

What is Kitchen Waste Compost?

Kitchen compost is an organic fertilizer made from kitchen waste or scraps. It is the process by which kitchen waste and food scraps are decomposed biologically. Kitchen waste consists of organic matter, which is used to fertilize the soil and to grow plants and crops at home.

Kitchen waste compost is a process of approx 2 to 3 months. It contains micro-organisms that quickly convert waste into compost. This compost is very nutritious and can be made at home easily.

In summer, when the temperature is high bacteria get decomposed faster and the process of making compost speeds up. In winter when the temperature is low, bacteria take more time to decompose, hence the process of making compost takes a longer time.

Surprisingly, many people are not aware that food scraps are actually good sources of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. These provide nutrients to the soil and carry minerals to the plants planted in the soil. Composting from kitchen waste may seem like a daunting task, but it is actually very easy. So, in this post, we will discuss all the important points to making compost at home from kitchen waste.

Ingredients required for making Kitchen Compost: First, choose carbon-rich (dry materials) and nitrogen-rich (green materials) waste materials from kitchen waste to make compost.

Brown Material –

This includes carbon-rich dry materials such as:

Dry Leaves – Dry leaves have carbon which helps in the process of decomposition. It also helps in soaking the water released by other components.
Compost – You can use vermicompost but avoid using mustard cake (sarso ki khali) and banana peel.
Soil – Please use a handful of soil also.

A mixture of these dry materials is known as brown material.

Green Material –

Waste from the kitchen or kitchen garbage is called green material.

1. What can we add?

Peels of fruits and vegetables.
Rotten fruits and vegetables.
Egg Shells
Used Tea Bags – You can use tea bags that are used while preparing tea. But you have to be careful while using it. Before adding it to the kitchen compost please wash and dry it properly. Do not use tea bags that contain milk and sugar in it.

2. What we should not add?

Dairy Products – Do not add milk or any dairy products.
Cooked Food- Do not add any cooked food or last night’s leftover food like curries, chapati, rice, etc.
Meat And Fish – Do not add any meat or fish.
Sugar & Sweets – Avoid adding sugar, honey, or any sweet dish otherwise aunts will come.
Wet Waste – Do not add any wet waste. If your peels are wet, then make sure you dry them completely before they go in the container.
Rotten and Sweet – Avoid vegetables with fungus and insects. You can add old rotten vegetables but do not add any vegetables which are already having fungus and insects in them. Generally, in brinjal insects are there, so chop the brinjal first to check if insects are there or not.

Note:

To make Kitchen compost an equal ratio of both green and brown material is required.

If green material is more in comparison to brown, then it will take more time to decompose. Plus, it will be smelly.

Use a Container to dump the Kitchen waste

One big container is required
To collect the kitchen waste, you can use a larger, deeper container for composting depending on the amount of waste. You can take any clay pot or plastic container ( bucket). Generally, clay pots come with a hole and they are porous also. If you are taking a plastic container, then make a hole in it.
Avoid Cement pots for making kitchen compost because it is very difficult to make holes in cement pots.
Proper flow of moisture and oxygen – Make sure that there is a proper flow of moisture and oxygen in the mixture to make compost from waste. To decompose the waste, oxygen or air plays a big role. There should be a regular supply of air inside the container otherwise it will be smelly.
The container should have holes – When this process starts, waste starts decomposing and water comes out from the container. So, there should be one hole beneath the container to shed the water away.
Collect water and use it as a fertilizer – You can collect this water which is very nutritious and also called liquid fertilizer (tea). You can give this water to your plants, it will work as a liquid compost.
The container should be covered – Make sure that the container should be covered so that any insects and rats would not enter it. You can use any plate or tray to cover the pots or containers.

Benefits of Kitchen Waste Compost

With just a little knowledge, you can make organic compost for your plants from kitchen waste.
This will not only make the soil fertile for your plants, but the plants will also get enough nutrients.
The special thing is that there is no cost in making compost from kitchen waste.
It is a very easy process. So, now use your kitchen waste wisely.