Organic Compost - The Easy Way
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.
At the core of good compost is lots of carbon. This can be found in the brown waste from your yard such as straw, dead leaves, dried flowers and shredded newspaper. It's important not to forget these essential materials as some folks do, they're the beginning of your heap.
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!
Your next step is to toss some plain old dirt from your garden on the pile. This will get your compost to start the process of breaking down.
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!
What you're trying to achieve by adding these layers is a pile about 3 feet high and 3 feet wide, so keep adding your scraps and waste until it reaches this size. Also the ratio needs to be approximately one part green waste to three parts brown for optimum results.
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.
The moisture level is critical. It should be damp but never soggy and make sure you don't let it dry out. Allowing it to dry out stops the decomposition process in it's tracks. You should see steam rising from your pile as you turn it, this indicates that it's all decomposing properly.
You can accelerate the process by adding earthworms to your compost pile if you want to, they are readily available at any fishing bait store. The truth is that the resident worms in your garden will quickly find your pile anyway.
There are many good reasons for keeping a tidy garden, so you should think about building or buying a bin for your compost. You can now purchase bins that you rotate by turning a handle, this can speed up the process of turning over your compost.
You need to wait until your compost reaches an almost black color and smells fresh and sweet, this indicates that it's ready. Now you can use it for potting up your favorite plants, you don't need to add anything else to the soil. It's also wise to gradually mix it through your entire garden because it contains all the essential nutrients your plants will need. Your garden will be the envy of all your neighbors.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
About the Author
Want to load your small garden with plants and perfume? Tom Johnson has a Complimentary eBook for you called Container Gardening Secrets.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, which means you may freely reprint it, in its entirety, provided you include the author's resource box along with LIVE links (without "nofollow" tags).
by: TomJohnson
Total views: 27
Word Count: 532
Rating: Not yet rated