Composting 1

Compost is like gold for the organic gardener. It is simply the best additive there is for your soil. It adds organic matter and nutrients, helps sandy soil retain moisture and helps clay soil drain better. It also inhibits some diseases when applied to the soil surface as a mulch.

Composting can be as simple as piling up organic matter and letting it decompose over time, or as complicated as mixing carbon rich materials and nitrogen rich materials at the right ratios and monitoring the temperature of the pile with a thermometer and turning the pile frequently.

I usually build my piles by mixing brown (carbon rich) and green (nitrogen rich) materials at about equal volumes and adding a couple of shovels of soil (for micro-organisms), wetting the pile down as I build it. If the pile is built properly it should start heating up in 2 or 3 days. If it doesn't heat up, it could be because it is too wet or not enough green materials were added.

I checked my pile the other day and it wasn't hot. I decided to turn the pile and add some grass clipping to help it heat up.

 

I pile up a layer from the pile, add a layer of grass clippings and mix them together, then continue this until the original pile has been turned. I also add organic fertilizer or blood meal to help it heat up.

 

This is the fertilizer I use.

 

 

I will add more information about composting in my next post. There is a lot of information that I would like to share.

 

 

Soooo......Until next time.........HAPPY GARDENING!