Two Old Gardeners and a Blog

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.

Next up your compost will need some nitrogen. One of the easiest places to find this is in your kitchen waste. Anything green should be used, like fruit and vegetable peelings or green leftovers… never use any meat! You can also use any green garden waste, such as lawn clippings and green plant clippings.

Then you need to top it off with some soil from your garden. It’s very important to remember to add some natural soil to your compost heap to get it started.

Let’s see, you’ve now got a layer of brown material, on top of that you’ve thrown some green waste and covered it with some garden soil. What you need now is another layer of nitrogen rich brown waste. Before you go any further you need to moisten your organic compost with a splash of water. It’s critical that you keep your pile damp, but just as important to not allow it to get soggy!

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 keep your pile tidy you can build or buy a bin. This keeps your garden looking neat and stops your pile spreading out too much. To make the job of turning your compost heap over easier, you can buy a rotating bin that you simply turn to mix your compost.

Your compost is fully decomposed when it has a sweet earthy smell and looks almost black, its now ready to be used. Start by mixing it into your garden soil to add nutrients and keep doing this until you’ve covered your entire garden, then keep building up your soil over the years. It also makes excellent potting mix for your indoor plants, you don’t need to add anything extra.

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