Giving Valentine's day flowers a new purpose through compost
Around this time, many of the flowers given during Valentine's Day last February 14 start to wither and die. However, there are ways to keep them from ending up in dumpsites, such as giving them a new purpose through compost.Â
Like many relationships, the flowers given on Valentine's day will not last forever. Composting is one of the usual methods of utilizing organic wastes, such as dead plants and food waste, to create healthy soil and fertilizer.Â
Flowers, like any other plant parts, can be great compost components. A combination of newly cut flowers, yard waste, and kitchen scraps results in organic soil enrichment through composting. In composting, fresh flowers should be included among green compost materials, while the dried ones belong to brown compost materials.
In selecting flowers for composting, the first thing to consider is not to include diseased flowers. Plants with signs of disease should not be used for composting because they might pass the disease to other plants during the process.
Do not add thorny rose stems, bulbs, and flowers treated with herbicides in the compost. While they are also organic waste, these plant materials may slow down the decomposition process.
Dead and dry flowers can also be included in the compost, but it is suggested to shred them into smaller pieces to ensure that they decompose much more quickly. Gardeners also use water and hydrated white lime in the mixture if the compost is loaded with a large number of dead and dry flowers. On the other hand, the hydrated white lime serves as a deacidification agent to neutralize the acids that will be generated when the compost is forming.
By composting flowers, people can further spread the love they received to help a new life sprout by helping other plants grow.