Fall is the best time to
start composting, because you have a lot of composting ingredients to choose
from this time of year. Cleaning up the flower beds and garden plots, mowing
the lawn, raking fresh fallen leaves, vegetable scraps, annual and perennial
flower cuttings. What makes good compost? Grass clippings that haven’t been
treated with “weed and feed” or herbicides, cuttings from perennials that are
soft, not “woody”, small twigs and vegetables that have run their course.
There’s
always the question whether to use tomato plants in compost. Some things to
consider before adding tomato plants to the compost pile. Diseases can survive
the composting process and get added right back into the soil when the compost
is used in the spring. The same can be said of any plants with powdery mildew
or other molds. These need to be trashed, not used in the compost pile. In
addition, the compost pile may not get hot enough (130° - 150°) to kill off the
seeds of many plants, including weeds. There will be lots of volunteers
everywhere you spread your compost, so remove seed heads and seed pods from
plants before they are added to the compost pile.
Basic composting consists of layering “green”
and “brown” materials, and then adding water. Green materials are high in
nitrogen such as grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds,
kitchen scraps, shrub clippings. These make the compost heat up. Brown
materials are high in carbon, such as leaves, sawdust, twigs, dry garden waste,
and shredded newspaper and cardboard. A good ratio is 3 parts brown to 1 part
green.
The smaller the pieces are, the hotter the compost gets and the quicker the materials breakdown. Don’t compost meat, dairy or pet waste.
A simple way to compost is to bury it right in the garden (called trench composting). Trench composting takes up little room and will attract worms.
Or buy some starter worms to add to the process. Red wigglers are best for composting.
Another convenient way to compost is with a
compost bin. Tumbling composters make it easy to turn your compost, thus
speeding up the process. The more turns, the faster the compost develops. Keep
compost moist, not soggy. If the compost starts to stink, it’s probably too wet
(not enough oxygen).
The compost you start now will make a great soil amendment
for spring. It will help break up the clay and add texture and nutrients to
your soil. Remember to mix compost into the garden a few weeks before you
plant, to give it a chance to work into the soil.
No comments:
Post a Comment