Green gardening-using compost in your garden
Today's avid gardeners are using green materials including compost for growing and maintaining their gardens. Many people are have mistakenly assumed that making and using compost is difficult but by following these easy to do tips you easily make and use compost in your garden. Best of all your plants, your family and the planet will love it too!
Making compost is as simple as instead of bagging leaves, grass or garden debris from the yard and sending it off to the dump, you can convert this organic matter into compost that will help improve the yard and garden. This organic matter is transformed into compost through the work of microorganisms, soil fauna, enzymes and fungi.
Gardening experts agree that building and maintaining a compost pile is the best way to produce food for a garden because compost improves the soil structure and provides a balanced source of a plant's nutrients. This is why some gardeners will even call compost "black gold."
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To make good compost, you simply start by gathering any plant materials that may be found in the yard. Some examples of this are the following: grass clippings, sod pieces, weeds (without seeds) or kitchen scraps.
Examples of browns or carbon-rich materials which you will also need are: shredded newspaper, hay or straw, and leaves.
It is important to keep in mind that two other important factors in making compost are moisture and air. A compost pile should be about as moist as a wrung-out sponge. It is important to understand that if the pile is too wet or too dry, then the bacteria responsible for decomposition will not be able to work effectively. In addition, if the compost pile does not have good air flow, then the decomposition will slow down substantially.
An easy way to contain the compost pile is to make a cage out of heavy-duty wire. You will want to build the pile on a beginning layer of sticks and branches to promote good air flow. After that layer then build the pile in layers of greens and browns with an activator of other compost or garden soil, making the pile approximately four feet by four feet. Experienced gardeners recommend that a good way to keep air circulation within the pile is to turn the pile often. Another way to get air circulation and moisture into the pile is to build it around a central column made out of PVC pipe that has about 1/4-inch holes drilled in it.
And easy way to make a compost tumbler is to purchase a large garbage can with a clamp-on lid. Using a 1/4-inch drill bit, drill holes every two to three inches in the lid of the can. You can then build the compost pile within the can.
To tumble the can, you simply turn it on its side and roll it a few times.
Once the pile heats up from the working bacteria, you can keep the heat in the pile by lining the cage with plastic, be sure to leave enough to wrap over the top of the pile.
Another valuable tip is that when adding larger items such as shrub trimmings or garden plants, you should chop them up first by running over them with the lawn mower.
Another quick way for composting is to make a compost tea. You can simply put a small shovel full of compost onto a piece of cheesecloth or muslin. Then carefully tie up the ends of the cloth to form a bag. Place the bag in a bucket of water and let it sit for a couple of days. After a few days, the nutrients from the compost will have enriched and will serve as a liquid fertilizer for the plants.
