Diana's Garden Centre

Gardening Tips

Compost

Making compost is one of the great ways to keep your garden "green". As composting is one of nature's best mulches and soil amendments, without the need for fertilizers. Using compost improves your soil aeration, structure and textures all helping to increase the soil's water holding capacity. Compost helps by improving your soil fertility and also stimulates healthy root development in plants. All of the organic matter provided in your compost will provide food for microorganisms, which will keep the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorous will be in abundance and there will be no need to add any soil amendments.

Making a compost will certainly benefit you garden, but it will also help by contributing to save our environment. Most of your compost waste would normally go into our land fills about one third of land-fills are full of the items that we would use for our compost. In reducing the waste to landfills we help our environment by keeping our landfill not so full that we have to keep making new sites for new ones! By doing your environmentally friendly part you will help in reducing the number of landfills and you also will have great materials for your garden soil! For a great and effective soil enhancer compost is almost virtually free and only takes a little time and effort to create!

Luckily anyone may create a compost, whether your needs are very large or small. You must know that there are just four basic needs for successful compost; additives, a compost container, compost components, and compost maintenance.

Compost containers

You may wish to purchase a compost container or simply make one. Having a compost container will help in ways such as keeping your yard looking neat and tidy and enabling the compost to decompose at a faster rate. The compost containers may be made of wire, Chicken wire is not strong enough, especially if you start using a fork to toss the materials. You may also create compost by using bricks in a three sided shape with an opening to all you to toss your compost. You may go and purchase a high end tumbling compost that will hasten the decomposition of your compost even quicker. So simple or high end, a compost container is a good idea.

Components

It would be the best choice to begin your compost heap near your garden and close to water, it must receive a lot of sun each day, about six hours a day is great. The organic matter for composting may be grass clippings, almost all kitchen scraps (meats may not be as great as they may contain preservatives); raked leaves are also great for composts! Place your organic matter in 15 cm compacted layers, alternating them with 5 cm layers of manure or soil from your garden or top-soil from a bag.

Additives

Remember the phrase "don't waste your waste"; use it all for the compost! Yard waste makes up to %20 or more of the countries garbage! So freely use your yard clippings, grass cuttings, vegetable peelings and dead fruits, egg shells and coffee grounds are all great additives to your compost. Stay away from using weed roots (as they can re grow) and it is not wise to use diseased plants or leaves as they can also contaminate your compost. Plastics do not decompose and charcoal ashes may often be toxic.

Maintenance

When your compost heap has reached a level of about 130 cm tall, it would be good to make a bowl in the centre and add some water. To help decompose your compost you may want to use a fork and turn the outsides of your compost to the inside, this activates all the material. Turning your compost will also prevent it from becoming to soggy and watery by allowing the air to help it decompose properly. If your compost does not seem to be working you may add some manure or fertilizer to allow your compost to become more heated, when the compost generates heat it is working and when the compost is no longer generating heat it is ready to use. The finished results of compost should smell like the rich earth and be a dark rich brown similar to coffee grounds. Good compost is everything to help create and maintain a great garden as a soil additive. Compost works as a fertilizer that will slowly seep nutrients into the ground. Compost can also be used as mulch around plants or may be directly worked into the soil of flower beds and areas that are landscaped!

Compost is and always has been the ultimate garden fertilizer. Compost contains virtually all the nutrients that a living plant needs and delivers them in a slow-release style over a period of years. Composts that are made with a wide variety of ingredients will provide an even more nutritious meal to your growing plants.

Around the world Farmers will testify that healthier soil grows healthier plants that naturally resist disease, unwanted insects, and environmental pressures. Compost material added to your garden is a long-term investment as it becomes a permanent part of the soil structure, helping to feed future plantings in years to come.

Using the finished compost you have created.

Use your compost by adding about an 8 -10 cm layer, digging it to a depth of about 15 cm by using a rototiller or a spading fork. You may side dress your compost around roots of transplants (bushes, trees or vegetables). Do not bury the compost but hoe it in slightly. This is the best suited way to ensure your nutrient enriched compost is used for best results!

Well I hope that this article about composts gives you great motivation to create your own! Take great comfort that you are saving our landfills and making your very own soil enhancer for free! Enjoy your beautiful garden and if you may have any questions please feel free to contact me, Diana, at Diana's Garden Centre, or just drop by and I will gladly answer all of your questions! Thanks again and may we fill your heart with the joy of gardening!