Greenhouses and Gardening

Organic compost is the very best material for growing successful crops. Good compost is exactly what your plants will thrive on, simply because it’s made up from lots of great organic material. It’s also the safest substance in which to grow your flowers and vegetables.

The basis of good organic compost is carbon, so you need to start there. This means using things like dried leaves, straw, shredded newspaper and dead flowers. These are the vital brown materials that many people forget to add, but that’s not going to be you.

The next layer should be green waste that’s full of nitrogen. All your lawn clippings, kitchen waste and green garden prunings should be thrown onto your heap. When we talk of kitchen waste we mean any vegetable peelings, fruit peel or green leftovers, but never any meat!

To get your compost to start decomposing, it’s very important to add ordinary soil from your garden to the heap as your next step, this will top off your pile.

So far you’ve started with a layer of brown waste to which you’ve added some green waste and then some garden soil. Now you start the process again with another layer of brown material. At this time you should also add some water to dampen your compost, but make sure it’s exactly that… damp! It should be just moist, not soaking wet!

Keep adding alternate layers as above, trying to maintain a proportion of three parts brown waste to one part green for maximum effect. The most manageable size for your pile is abut 3 feet wide by 3 feet high.

You will need to turn your compost with a garden fork to aid the decomposition. As you turn, you want to move the stuff from the center to the outside and the outer material to the middle. You should do this every couple of weeks at least.

As you’re turning your pile, if the moisture level is correct, you’ll see steam rising from your compost. This shows that decomposition is occurring and that you’re using the right amount of water. The decomposing action ceases if you allow your compost heap to dry out.

The worms in your garden will find your compost in a short time and aid in the process, but if you feel impatient and want to speed up the decomposition, you can always buy some common earthworms to put in your pile. The best place to find them is at your nearest fishing bait store.

To stop your compost heap from being an untidy eyesore you can either make or buy a bin. There are even rotating bins available that make your task of turning your compost over much easier. The choice is yours.

As your compost decays it will turn into a nearly black substance that will have a sweet smell. At this stage it’s ready to be mixed into your garden soil to enrich it with all the nutrients needed to grow fantastic crops. It’s also excellent for use as potting soil, you don’t need to add anything else to it. Over time you will replace all your garden soil with this enriched organic compound and your plants will thrive.

Tags: garden, green house