Composting Garden Nursery Landscaping Guide

Home Garden Composting

By Pixie Matthews

A mixture of organic materials such as leaves, yard clippings, small twigs and even some compostable kitchen scraps that have gone through the decomposition process is known as compost.

Many people engage in the composting practice in order to recycle the organic materials around their home and property. This allows people to enjoy the resulting nutrient rich muck that can be used in the garden, while also keeping their yard and kitchen waste out of a landfill site.

Compost Is The Black Gold Of Garden Fertilizers

In fact, to avid gardeners, compost is highly regarded and considered the "black gold" of garden fertilizers. Material that has gone through the composting process ends up producing a wonderfully rich material that is filled with minerals and nutrients that are well suited to encouraging lush and healthy growth of new plants.

Composting ends up creating a wonderfully rich organic material that can be mixed in with virtually any type of soil to improve it and to prepare it for plants.

Compost Improves The Soil Of Your Garden

Sandy soils are improved with the addition of compost because it helps retain moisture. Clay soils become much easier to work with when compost is added and makes the soil able to handle an improved variety of plant types.

The composting process involves four different components that are required to create a mixture that will deliver the sought-after benefits. These four key components are organic matter, correct moisture, sufficient oxygen and bacteria.

A Mixture Of Brown And Green Organic Materials Makes Good Compost

The organic materials suitable for composters include various plant materials, food scraps, and some varieties of animal manure. Good compost should include a mix of brown organic material and green organic material.

The brown organic matter includes such as dead leaves, twigs, and manure. The green material will be comprised of things such as grass clippings, hedge trimmings, coffee grounds, fruit rinds and vegetable waste.

Try TO Maintain 1:1 Green To Brown Ratio For Best Compost

The brown materials provide carbon for the mixture, while the green materials bring in supplies of needed nitrogen. As much as possible, it is best to try to maintain a one to one ratio of brown material to green material to produce the best final compost.

If you have a compost pile that contains more brown material than green, then you can add in a handful of 10-10-10 fertilizer. This will add nitrogen and will speed up the decomposition process.

Speeding Up The Decomposition Naturally

Sometimes it is helpful to shred, chop or mow the available materials into smaller pieces. This will serve to speed up the composting process because the smaller the pieces of material are the greater the surface area.

The proper moisture levels are important to a successful composting process. It is said that the compost pile should have about the same amount of moisture as a sponge that has been wrung out by hand.

Just Add Water If Pile Is Too Dry

If the compost pile is too dry, then the decomposition slows down. You can simply add some water to the pile during dry weather periods or any time when a lot of brown material has been added to help keep the process moving along.

Should the compost become too wet, simply dig in and turn the pile to mix the materials and spread the moisture. You can also add some brown organic materials that are very dry to help balance things out.

Sufficient oxygen is also a key element that is necessary for decomposition. Oxygen supports the breakdown of the organic materials by the bacteria.

Turning The Compost To Supply More Oxygen

Supplying oxygen to the compost pile is as simple as turning the compost so the materials at the outer edges of the pile are moved to the center. This also helps to control odors that can develop. The pile should be turned about every two weeks for best results.

It is the bacteria, and other types of microorganisms, that do the real work involved in the composting process. With the other needed elements in place, the bacteria can go to work breaking down the organic components into the compost that will benefit the organic garden.

Nutrient Rich Materials For Your Garden Soil

At the end of the composting phase, you will have recycled your organic waste into a valuable and nutrient rich material that will do wonders for your soil. When spring arrives, spread the compost over your planting area.

Put about three to four inches of compost on your topsoil and then till it in as you prepare for planting. When your vegetable garden starts to bloom you will no doubt be glad you decided to compost.

About the Author:
Pixie Matthews has written a number of articles on gardening and landscaping including Organic Vegetable Gardening Products, Vegetable Gardening Tips, Spring Vegetable Gardening, Compost For Your Vegetable Garden, Vegetable Gardening Tricks, Compost Heap.
Keep a lookout for more of his articles on this website.

Little Known Composting Facts....

How do I prepare the materials for composting?
Start preparing your compost pile by breaking up the materials into manageable pieces. The object is to help the materials break down or decompose faster. Larger pieces will hinder the process. A shredder works wonders for yard trimmings. If you are using manure you will want to take a pitch fork and break up the clumps before adding them into the pile.

Try to keep the pieces to sizes around the shape of a leaf if it is at all possible. If you can keep them even smaller to help speed up the process that much faster and before long you will have a mound of fertilizer to use however you see fit.

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