Home gardening brings multiple benefits to the individual and the community, but the costs of tools and accessories, seeds and plants, supplies and fertilizers to grow plants may trouble some beginners who prefer a smaller budget.
So why not make your own compost?
Considered as “black gold” by many gardeners, compost is a cheap fertilizer made of waste and organic material and a great material for garden soil. By speeding up the decomposing process of the organic material in a composter, one can make compost that is rich in nutrients with the added benefit of reducing landfill waste.
How to compost?
- Layer the waste to create Carbon: Nitrogen at a ratio of 30:1. Carbon material includes leaves while nitrogen components can be found in fresh grass, veggie scraps and manure.The waste should be shredded as the smaller the components, the bigger the surface area, which allows for a faster decomposing rate.
- Aerate the compost twice a week by turning it over.
- Add a bit of water to moisture the pile. Avoid too much water, a “wet sponge” is a good reference for measurement of water content.
- Add urea once a week to help raise the temperature for decomposition.
- Keep the sides and lids closed at all times to trap the heat.
Finally, compost making requires a bit of patience, as it takes months to produce compost. Production depends on factors such as the compost size, materials used, surface area and the frequency of turning the pile. However, the result can be extremely gratifying when you have your own pile of “black gold”.
If you would like to know more about home gardening, do drop by at the upcoming StarProperty.my Fairs, in which StarProperty.my will be giving out 20 types of 1,100 free plants provided with care sheets.
A collaboration between StarProperty.my and Free Tree Society (FTS) Kuala Lumpur, the CSR effort intends to encourage the public to plant more greens in the house.
The StarProperty.my fairs are supported by premium partners Ekovest Berhad and IJM Land. The fairs at Nu Sentral (August 15-21) and Publika Mall (Sept 26-Oct 02) will be giving out 400 plants respectively, while 300 plants are prepared for visitors of the KLCC fair.
FTS will participate in the KLCC Fair on Saturday, November 19 to answer inquiries from the public.
The edible types of plants include blue pea flower, Brazilian spinach, ginseng jawa, Indian borage, lime, longevity spinach, Malabar spinach, moringa, mulberry, papaya, passion fruit and pisang berangan.
The ornamental plants selected include desert rose, duranta, kalanchoe, ruellia, Ruellia rosea, Sanchezia, spider plants and Zigzag.
Visit fair.starproperty.my or Facebook (/StarProperty) for further information.
For booth enquiries, please call 603-79671388 (ext 1105/1184) or email support@starproperty.my.
*Information of compost making is provided by FTS.
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