Garden Compost..Natures Best Organic Fertilizer

The makings for nature’s best garden compost may be wilting in your refrigerator’s vegetable bin. Kitchen waste, along with leaves, grass clippings, and other garden waste can all be used to generate compost.

To improve soil structure use compost; it helps sandy soils retain water and loosens clay soils. This is a good replacement for commercial fertilizers, it's cheap and it's perfect for those committed to organic growing methods.

Getting Started

You can make a garden compost project as big or as small a job as you want, this will be based on the results you want.

If you choose to tend a compost pile, you can pile materials and let them sit and break down on their own, or you can be more hands-on. You can simply turn the garden compost pile occasionally to shredding all materials that go into the compost, maintain proper moisture levels and the proper temperature. Or you can compost by simply burying kitchen scraps in your garden.

To start your composting project, decide on the type of bin you want to use, if any. There is a large variety of bins available through garden supply stores and nurseries. Bins will help keep your pile neat, they will help retain heat and moisture, and they will help avoid negative effects of wind and weather. They also help keep pests from food scraps, and your neighbors will thank you for not having to look at an ugly, uncovered pile.

Maintaining the proper mix of greens and browns will help your materials compost more quickly. Green materials include fresh plant materials like kitchen scraps, weeds, green leaves, tea bags and coffee grounds. Brown materials include dry and dead plant materials like dry brown weeds, straw, wood chips, leaves, or sawdust. The ideal ratio is one part greens to about 25 parts browns, but if it doesn't really matter how quickly your pile breaks down, you don’t need to worry to much about the ratio.

When composting kitchen waste, use only vegetables, fruits and grains. Some things you don't want to compost are dairy, meat, or any oils, fats or grease, which won’t break down and they will also attract pests. When adding yard waste, stay away from weeds with big root system and those that have gone to seed: you’ll need to chop or break larger branches and other woody material that will otherwise take too long to break down.

It can take six weeks to two years for the process to finish generating the garden compost. This time frame depends on many factors, including your climate, the materials in your pile and the amount of effort put into it. You will need to water your pile occasionally, and you should turn your compost to aerate it. You can use a specially designed compost aeration tool or a pitchfork.

Using Your Garden Compost

Finished garden compost can be used as a soil amendment, side dressing, mulch, and even a compost tea. It is good to use on vegetable gardens, trees, shrubs, lawns, perennials, annuals, and even house plants and potted plants.

To correct poor soil, spread two to three inches of compost over the surface and work the compost into the top six inches of dirt. For a garden or flower bed spread a one-inch layer of compost on top of the ground. One-quarter to one-half inch spread in a thick layer on your lawn annually will help maintain quality of your soil.

Top of Garden Compost Page

Return To How To Grow A Good Garden Page

Country Home Decorating Page