What To Do With Compost: Tips for Eco-Friendly Gardening

Composting is a great way to reduce waste and create nutrient-rich soil for your plants. But what do you do with all that compost once it's ready? Here are some tips for putting your compost to use in your garden.

1. Use it as Mulch

Spread your compost around your plants to help retain moisture in the soil and suppress weeds. This will also add nutrients to the soil over time as the compost decomposes. Be sure to keep the mulch at least an inch away from the stems of your plants to prevent rotting.

Mulching plants helps retain moisture in the soil and suppress weeds.

2. Make Compost Tea

Compost tea is made by steeping compost in water, then using the resulting liquid as a fertilizer for your plants. To make compost tea, fill a bucket with water and add a scoop of compost. Let the mixture sit for a few days, stirring occasionally. Then strain out the solids and use the liquid to water your plants.

Compost tea can be used as a natural fertilizer for your plants.

3. Improve Soil Quality

Mix your compost into your soil to improve its quality. This will help your plants grow bigger and healthier by providing them with the nutrients they need. You can mix compost into your soil before planting or work it into the top layer of soil around established plants.

Compost can be mixed into soil to improve its quality.

4. Start a Worm Bin

Worms love compost! Starting a worm bin is a great way to turn your kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich vermicompost. Simply add your food scraps to a bin filled with bedding material (such as shredded newspaper) along with some worms. The worms will eat the scraps and turn them into compost.

Starting a worm bin is a great way to turn your kitchen scraps into compost.

5. Donate or Sell It

If you have more compost than you can use, consider donating or selling it. Many community gardens and urban farms are in need of compost. You can also sell it to local farmers or gardeners who may not have the time or resources to make their own compost.

You can sell your excess compost to local farmers or gardeners.

Making the most of your compost can help you create a healthy and thriving garden while reducing waste. Try these tips and see how they work for you!