Manda Panda asked:


My boyfriend’s mother did an organic no dig garden last year and she now has leaves and fruits and vegetable peels on the garden composting creating new soil for the coming season. However, a lot of the compost is still leaves and other bric-a-brac, not decomposed yet. Any way to help and speed up the process?

By: MIKE SELVON

Building up sustainable soil for organic gardening starts right after the garden soil testing has been completed. The testing of the soil helps to identify the additional fertilizers and conditioners that can be added. When attempting to garden organically, testing, maintaining and improving the soil is a constant process and one that is well worth the effort, according to those who advocate organic farming and gardening.

Creating sustainable soil for gardening organically means that you have to be able to replenish the topsoil of the garden. One of the best substances to have for keeping the soil rich and healthy enough for an organic garden is a good supply of compost. In addition to compost, it is good to have enzymes, earthworms, and beneficial microbes available to add into the soil mixture as well.

In most cases, when the garden bed has been established with great quality soil that is able to support and sustain organic gardening, it can then be maintained by simply adding home composting on a routine basis. This can easily be done by replacing a layer of the garden soil with a layer from your compost.

Backyard composting is a terrific way to improve your soil structure and also enhance moisture retention. In the average compost heap there are billions of bacterial organisms that will grow, feed, reproduce and die. Through this life-cycle of the microorganisms, the organic waste material that has been added to the compost pile will be recycled into a robust organic fertilizer and effective soil conditioner.

Many people say that composting is truly the ultimate in recycling because it benefits the soil in so many ways and supports organic farming and gardening in its highest and best sense. In addition to improving the structure of the soil and the moisture retention ability of the soil, composting also provides excellent aeration, full fertilization and nitrogen storage. Composting also creates a beneficial pH balance in the soil, releases a stream of nutrients and supplies food for the beneficial microbial inhabitants in the earth.

Shredded alfalfa hay is one of the best types of material that you can add to your compost heap, and some say it is “the” secret to a great compost recipe. Worms really thrive on alfalfa, making worm composting even more effective and faster, and it provides excellent mulch and soil additive components for your soil.

When you want to get your compost ready for your organic gardening undertaking, you should make the compost pile about four feet high and also about four feet wide as well. It needs to be located in an area that allows for good drainage and it should be surrounded with chicken wire so it will have proper air circulation. After about three to four months, your compost will be ready to mix in with the soil and begin working wonders for your garden.

By: greenorganic

Whether you have a large garden, a small yard, or only a few window boxes, good, fertile soil is essential for growing beautiful flowers and vegetables. But depending on where you live, good soil may be sparse and also be quite expensive. So it makes sense to take advantage of an ancient technique to create your very own garden soil: composting.

Composting turns kitchen and garden waste into fertile new soil. It’s so easy that anyone can do it, it’s safe, and it does not require much space or equipment. In addition, it can keep such a large quantity of organic waste out of our landfill sites, that many local authorities now run composting schemes. Along with instructions and advice, you may even be able to pick up a free compost bin, so it’s worth checking it out.

Compost bins make a sensible addition to any garden and come in many shapes, sizes and finishes. If you have some spare wood and are handy with a hammer, you can quickly create your own wooden frame and line it with overlapping planks to create an open wooden box. All you need then is a wooden lid or heavy-duty plastic cover for the top. If DIY is not your strength, both wooden and plastic compost bins are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased in any good hardware or garden store.

Bin sizes vary. A 4 feet (1.2m) tall bin will be fine for a family of 4. If you have a large garden, mow your own lawn, and prune your own trees and hedges, then choose a larger bin, as all the garden waste quickly adds up. Place the bin in a sheltered corner that you can access easily from the kitchen. If you have to trudge across a muddy lawn in the dark, you may not use it as much for disposing of your kitchen waste.

Fill the bin with ‘green’ and ‘brown’ waste in a ratio of 2:1. Green waste includes raw fruit and vegetable peelings, grass clippings, leaves, plant cuttings, tea bags, coffee grounds including the filter paper and eggshells, while sawdust, straw, shredded paper, animal bedding and wood (i.e. tree pruning waste) make up the ‘brown’ components of your bin.

Cooked food, meat and fish, used nappies /diapers, pet litter, perennial weeds, ashes and treated or varnished woods should not be added to your compost bin.

Fill the bin as you go along. It makes for better soil if you can balance the contents of your compost bin. As bacteria, beetles, and worms go to work to break down its contents, the bin will warm up. The contents of the bin will collapse and appear to shrink. This process can be very rapid in the summer, but will slow down in the winter months, especially during a cold snap. If you add too much green waste at once, for example all your lawn clippings, the bin can overheat and ‘weep’. To prevent this, always mix in some tree bark, hedge clippings, or even shredded paper with your green waste. That way, your bin will stay healthy and produce good quality, light soil.

Once you have been feeding your compost bin for 6-9 months, it will have become quite full and the contents will no longer collapse a long way down. When you touch the outside of the bin, it feels warm towards the middle, but cooler at the bottom. This indicates that there is a layer of soil at the bottom ready to be removed. Open the door at the bottom of your compost bin, if you have a wooden one remove one of the lower planks, and check the state of the new soil. It’s ready when it’s dark and crumbly and does not contain too many large bits of wood or identifiable components. Remove the soil carefully from the bottom upwards until you see the quality deteriorate visibly, i.e. there will suddenly be egg shells, tea bags and bits of tree or hedge in the mix. Stop there.

Close the bin up again and give it a shake or stir the contents up with a gardening fork to add some air. Then carry on composting.

The ‘harvested’ soil makes good mulch for all flower and vegetable beds. Just dig it in lightly and let your garden get to work.

For Green living and organic products visit ExquisiteOrganics.com.

By: MIKE SELVON

Building up sustainable soil for organic gardening starts right after the garden soil testing has been completed. The testing of the soil helps to identify the additional fertilizers and conditioners that can be added. When attempting to garden organically, testing, maintaining and improving the soil is a constant process and one that is well worth the effort, according to those who advocate organic farming and gardening.

Creating sustainable soil for gardening organically means that you have to be able to replenish the topsoil of the garden. One of the best substances to have for keeping the soil rich and healthy enough for an organic garden is a good supply of compost. In addition to compost, it is good to have enzymes, earthworms, and beneficial microbes available to add into the soil mixture as well.

In most cases, when the garden bed has been established with great quality soil that is able to support and sustain organic gardening, it can then be maintained by simply adding home composting on a routine basis. This can easily be done by replacing a layer of the garden soil with a layer from your compost.

Backyard composting is a terrific way to improve your soil structure and also enhance moisture retention. In the average compost heap there are billions of bacterial organisms that will grow, feed, reproduce and die. Through this life-cycle of the microorganisms, the organic waste material that has been added to the compost pile will be recycled into a robust organic fertilizer and effective soil conditioner.

Many people say that composting is truly the ultimate in recycling because it benefits the soil in so many ways and supports organic farming and gardening in its highest and best sense. In addition to improving the structure of the soil and the moisture retention ability of the soil, composting also provides excellent aeration, full fertilization and nitrogen storage. Composting also creates a beneficial pH balance in the soil, releases a stream of nutrients and supplies food for the beneficial microbial inhabitants in the earth.

Shredded alfalfa hay is one of the best types of material that you can add to your compost heap, and some say it is “the” secret to a great compost recipe. Worms really thrive on alfalfa, making worm composting even more effective and faster, and it provides excellent mulch and soil additive components for your soil.

When you want to get your compost ready for your organic gardening undertaking, you should make the compost pile about four feet high and also about four feet wide as well. It needs to be located in an area that allows for good drainage and it should be surrounded with chicken wire so it will have proper air circulation. After about three to four months, your compost will be ready to mix in with the soil and begin working wonders for your garden.

By: Paul Hata

If you’re into organic gardening you probably know by know about compost and how it works wonders to your garden patch. But for the first timers, creating a compost pile is not really on the top of their to-do-list. The question of is composting worthwhile usually comes up and not knowing enough they usually arrive at the easiest answer and course of action. And that’s a nope, I don’t have time for making my own compost. I will settle with the commercially available organic fertilizers and stuff.

First things first, composting is the process of decomposing organic wastes, which can be household wastes or plant remains or a mixture of both, and making them into a dark, earthy, and loose or crumbly substance. Because compost is rich in minerals which most plants need, compost can be made to replace your garden soil.

Most often, however, gardeners use compost to enrich their garden soil. When compost is added the soil, the overall structure of the soil improved allowing it to hold more water and letting air circulate within the soil.

Contrary to some of your perceptions, compost is quite easy to make and is especially easy to use. There are several methods that could be used when creating compost. The following guide shows how easy it is to create it on your own backyard.

I would suggest making your own compost bin to make everything confined to one place. You will avoid making a mess in your backyard if you do so. Plus, temperature and moisture can also be regulated if you construct a compost bin but allow the organic materials to be composted touch the soil. You need to allow your earthworm buddies and other organic microbes help out in the decomposing process.

Although, almost all organic materials could go into your compost pile, a good combination of greens and browns would be better. The greens refer to nitrogen-rich organic matter like fresh grass, leaves, and your scraps in your kitchen. The browns on the other hand refer to organic matter that contains a lot of carbon such as those dried leaves on your backyard, straw and, of course, wood chips or shavings.

A good combination of greens and browns can dictate how fast you will have a finished compost. Admittedly, you will have an edge in this area if you have piled up your experience in compost making. Why? Well, for starters you would probably have timed how fast the final compost is created from the different proportions of greens and browns.

Some, however, would suggest that the best proportion would be 25 percent of your compost pile is made of browns and 1 percent is made of greens.Take note that if you have a large part made up of browns the compost pile will decompose rather slowly. On the other hand, having too much greens on the pile could cause some serious smell.

Other elements that you should always consider when making compost are the air and the amount of water your pile will need. It is best to keep your compost pile damp. This will help in the decomposing process. Air is also needed so make sure your pile is properly aerated. If you do observe that no air is coming in, just turn over your pile. Observe and continuously aerate your pile every until you can already harvest the fruits of your labor.

It takes some effort in creating compost, that part I have to agree. But the results of composting are really worthwhile.