Tips for Safe Composting: Avoid the Toxic Mess

If you are a gardener or even if you are just trying to reduce the garbage you send to the landfill then you should be composting your organic material. The material from your compost can be used to fertilize your garden, your lawn, your shrubs or any other plants in your home. There are some dangers in composting, to yourself, your family, your pets, and your plants. To prevent a toxic compost from forming it is important to follow a few simple rules.

Composting is a way to reduce what you send to the landfill by putting together all your organic waste from the kitchen, yard work, and other sources. It is, in effect, the disbursement of highly biodegradable material in soil for a more uniform and slower breakdown that increases nutrients, helpful micro-organisms, and macro-organisms.

To create a simple compost pile, create a space in your yard at least a few feet from any structures. Composting can also be done in an enclosed bin. You should never compost in a structure as moisture from the compost can draw impurities out of the building material and mix them into your compost which can be harmful and cause toxicity.

Any organic materials can be added to your compost, but care should be taken in adding pet wastes. Feces and urine from your pets may contain harmful microbes and/or parasites that will flourish in the compost unless care is taken to break it down. Red worms can help break down and kill these microbes and parasites safely, however, in extreme circumstances, they may conversely kill the worms.

Material from plants with diseases should not be placed in your compost pile as well. While the composting may kill many of the disease-causing organisms, it may not kill them all, and you could spread the disease to other plants very quickly. Also, avoid adding any plants that have been sprayed with chemical pesticides and herbicides. Weeds can be added, but you will only want to add them before they have gone to seed. Seeds will survive the composting and you will spread them into your garden or other areas where they are not desirable.

While it is ok for untreated wood to go into your compost, you should think twice about using building materials and treated wood, such as plywood. The chemicals from these woods will be drawn out and can ultimately toxify your compost.

While a hot compost can kill many diseases and toxins, it can be difficult to accomplish easily. The most important rule in safe composting is to aerate the compost. It should be turned regularly to add air and help in the breakdown of materials.

By following these simple rules, you will prevent your compost from being toxic and your plants will love you for it. This is the best source of nutrients that you can give them.