Natural Garden Compost Tips
Garnett Foards
Every wonder why some of the world's most beautiful natural gardens are found in the most remote places? It's because Mother Nature has done all the work! When you want to create a garden that's naturally lush and vibrant -- without resorting to harsh chemicals -- use nature's perfect fertilizer: garden composting.
Composting is the oldest method of fertilizing plants, from leafy shrubs and trees to exotic flowers. Take the rainforest, for example. The entire floor of the rainforest is a carpet of naturally occurring compost that's constantly providing shelter, support and food for all types of plant life.
It's easy to create your own perfect fertilizer just by saving food scraps and yard waste. You'll also save a load of money on garden center supplies, and you'll reduce waste. Creating your own garden compost is a win-win-win situation! When complete, your garden compost will be a dark, crumbly mixture of decomposed organic matter.
It's easy to create garden compost, and you'll be happy to see how many ways it can benefit your blooms:
* Provides essential nutrients to plants
* Reduces the need for harsh fertilizers
* Improve the quality of heavy clay or sandy soil
* Reduce the amount of water required
* Help control pesky weeds
Create Your Own Garden Compost
There is a very basic recipe for creating garden compost. Just remember the gardener's rule of thumb: two parts brown to one part green.
A compost pile is a bustling community of microorganisms. These tiny creatures exist by breaking down organic matter, like yard debris and organic scraps, and turning them into compost. You'll need to take an active role in encouraging the growth of these microorganisms.
Use natural flower fertilizers that are two parts carbon-rich "brown" materials, such as dried leaves. Mix this with one-part nitrogen-rich "green" materials, such as grass clippings. The end result will be an all-natural fertilizer that's the perfect fuel for those hungry populations of microorganisms. Before long, they'll be heating up your yard debris and producing valuable garden compost.
Ingredients for Your Garden Compost
Your "two parts brown" may contain any combination of the following materials:
* Dried leaves and dry grass clippings
* Twigs and small sticks
* Shredded newspaper
* Hay or straw
* Wood chips, wood shavings or sawdust
* Old potting soil
The "one part green" may include one or more of these healthy materials:
* Fresh, green grass clippings
* Fresh, green leaves
* Plant trimmings (stems and stalks)
* Hedge trimmings
* Annual weeds (without the heads!)
* Kitchen scraps (fruit and vegetable)
* Coffee grounds, filters and tea bags
* Egg shells
These materials should NEVER be used in your compost:
* Diseased plants
* Seed heads from weeds
* Invasive weeds (quack grass, morning glory)
* Cereal grains and bread
* Meat, fish or bones
* Any dairy products
* Cooking oil or grease, or oily foods
* Pet droppings
* Dead animals
Size Really Matters
When you use smaller composting components, you'll achieve rich, usable compost quicker. Large pieces of vegetables will obviously take longer to break down than smaller pieces, so chop your leftover fruits and vegetables into small pieces. Use shears or a machete to cut up garden debris. A garden chipper, shredder or lawnmower mulching attachment can easily break up sticks and twigs.
Even faster garden compost action can be realized when your compost pile is no less than three feet in diameter. Size is important, because the actual composting occurs when heat is generated by those millions of microorganisms living in your soil. As they process the raw materials, the microorganisms release energy that helps activate the decomposition. A compost pile at least three square feet in diameter is the best size for hotter, faster composting.
Air and Water
Compost is a living thing, and it needs water and air to survive. The microorganisms in your garden compost can't do their jobs if they don't receive an ample supply of water and air. Regularly sprinkle water over your compost, but don't drown it. Make it about as wet as a damp sponge.
You can incorporate air into the mixture by turning the compost once a week with a pitchfork. Turning the compost will also help to distribute the efforts of the microorganisms. Without turning, you'll have a layer of rich compost at the bottom of the pile with a pile of dry garden waste on top.
You can't get a better source of gardening advice comes than Mother Nature. Use nature's perfect compost. It's easy to make, and your bright, beautiful plants will be more than ample reward for your efforts.
Writer Garnett Foards contributes articles to a variety of web sites, on http://www.kydel.com/ family and http://www.sufup.com/ home repair topics.
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