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Teaching your children to recycle: compost or organic fertilizer

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One man's waste is another's wealth, but in this case, our waste is nature's wealth, or a lush, flowery garden.

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One man's waste is another's wealth, but in this case, our waste is nature's wealth, or a lush, flowery garden. 

Compost is nothing more than organic compost, the same compost that many garbage collection companies make with their organic / inorganic garbage separation plans.

In the case of inorganic ones, these are then separated between metals, glass and plastics; of which we will speak in a later installment. However, in this case, the organic ones are reused by some companies to make compost in bulk.

This compost is used by the agriculture industry to fertilize the fields while reducing pollution and garbage. It is a way to minimize the impact of landfills in the long term, to avoid soil erosion, and to maintain the topsoil of agricultural areas.

But in your garden, if you live in a house, can you do it? Yes of course! And in fact it is an enriching and motivating experience for your children to learn to take care of the environment, and by themselves seeing the results of how recycling can give way to life again.

Our recipe for a garden compost

Ingredients

Collect with your children daily vegetable and food waste from your meals. From eggshells, the erase the coffee, fruit and vegetable scraps like any other organic waste not industrially processed are used to obtain a homemade compost.

They should be chopped into pieces as small as possible to help them disintegrate quickly and evenly.

Collect the plant debris from your garden pruning, as well as dry leaves that fall from the trees.

If you have a pet in your yard, he can also help! Collect their feces and pour them into the tank.

Buy large plastic buckets (50 gallons) and make holes in the sides so that the oxygen penetrates the mixture that we are going to make

Preparation

For at least a week collect all the ingredients and pour them into the bucket to fill about 3/4 of it. Don't fill the bucket, as we will require you to occasionally remove its contents, and you don't want to make a mess.

rat to achieve a ratio of 70/30, that is, 70% of food and vegetables, and 30% of your pet's remains.

In this first phase, or thermophilic phase. Bacteria begin their action of transforming organic waste; and the heat of the mixture will be increased by the production of methane gas by these bacteria. The holes that you opened the tank or bucket help oxygen to penetrate, and the production of methane is reduced, as well as the bad smell. In those first days it is necessary that you remove the contents with a shovel so that more oxygen enters the mixture, and its ingredients decompose.

You will see how the remains are disintegrating into smaller pieces each time as these days go by, and the heat that is generated will decrease.

In a second stage, or mesophilic stage, which lasts a couple of months, the mixture loses its bad smell and settles. It is not necessary to remove it but occasionally.

The bad smell will soon have a field smell, and that is when your compost or compost is ready to be used in your garden.

Once it's ready, you can place it around your plants in the same way that you place coffee grounds around its stems.

Remember that if you find earthworms your plants, they help loosen the soil and enrich your compost, protect them, they are your allies for a beautiful garden.

Encourage your children to plant trees or flowers with you, and by seeing how they grow quickly and with colorful flowers, they will understand that our waste can be recycled and give life again.

Do you want to start your children in urban farming? Read more here

Frequently asked questions from our readers:

You can teach your children to recycle and make compost by involving them in the process, explaining the importance of reducing waste and how to separate it correctly, showing them how to make compost with food scraps and organic materials, and encouraging them to participate in the creation and care of a composter. Read more here: https://www.equilibriumx.com/reciclate/ensenando-a-reciclar-a-tus-hijos-el-compost-o-abono-organico
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Last modified: March 21, 2024