By: Paul Hata

Compost serves as a growing medium,or a porous, absorbent material that holds moisture and soluble minerals, providing the support and nutrients in which most plants will flourish.Organic compost is the best material to grow your plants in. Compost is the type of soil plants really love to grow in, because it is made from lots of great organic material. It is the safest kind of material to grow your plants in.

How Do Make Organic Compost

1.You need to start with a base of material that is rich in carbon.You will need things like straw, dead flowers, shredded newspaper, and dried leaves. Some people forget to add these brown materials, but the are essential.

2.You need green materials that are high in nitrogen.These materials include things like kitchen waste from plants, animal manure, green garden clippings, and grass clippings. You can use all kinds of fruit and vegetable peelings and leftovers, but no meat!

3.You need a little bit of soil from your garden.It is important for you to remember that you should actually add a bit of natural soil to your compost to get it started. You cab start by putting down a layer of your brown material. This could be straw, dry leaves, or even shredded newspapers if you do not have anything else. On top of that, you can add some of your green stuff, then a layer of soil. Then you add more of your brown material to the top. Finally, you need to add water to these layers. Just moisten them, do not drown them!

4.Continue the above by adding layers until you have a compost pile that is around 3 feet wide and 3 feet high. You should probably have a ratio of about three parts brown material to one part of green material. If your pile is not 3 feet tall yet, just keep adding material to it whenever you have it available.

5.About once every week or two, you should turn your compost pile. This means using something like a garden fork (a pitchfork) to stir your pile. You want to work all of the stuff in the middle out toward the edges, and move the outer material inward toward the middle.

Be sure to keep your compost pile moist. It should never be soggy, but be sure not to let it dry out. If your compost pile gets too dry, it will stop decomposing properly. If you see steam coming up from your pile when you turn it, you can be pretty sure everything is decomposing properly.

You can add earthworms to your compost pile if you want. They find the pile on their own, but you can speed the process up a big by adding some to the pile yourself. You can buy earthworms at a fishing bait store and use those.

6.Build or buy a bin to house your compost pile.This can help keep your pile neat and tidy, so it does not pread out too much. You can also buy rotating compost bins that you can turn in order to mix your compost. These are not necessary, but they can make your job easier.

Once your compost turns into a rich, nearly black material, it will start to smell much better. Your new compost will smell a bit sweet. Once it turns black and starts to smell sweet, it is ready to be mixed with your regular garden soil. In fact, you can use this rich compost as potting soil, usually with nothing else added. You can even replace most of the soil in your garden with this material, or use it in raised beds.

By: Chris Dailey

It is a well known fact in the organic gardening community that red worms create some of the best compost that you can use in your garden. It is actually a very simple process which I am going to oversimplify to get to the main point. The process is that you procure a container, fill it with dirt, some kind of bedding, add water, add worms, and add organic waste and this will set you on the path to having worm created organic compost. The problem with this process is that most people that do this often have the space and the time to make this process work on a continual basis. Some very large organic farms have entire hangers dedicated to the composting process. But what if you live in an urban area? Here are a few tips on how you can make a worm bin that will work in any urban or rural indoor situation.

The first thing you will need to do is go to the store and purchase some plastic storage boxes. They do not need to be very large but they should be sturdy. If you do not have a drill, you will need to borrow one or buy one in order to make ventilation holes. Do you read the newspaper? If so then you have what you need in order to begin the composting process. And finally, aside from dirt, you are going to need some red worms. About a pound of them will do.

Two very important things are air and water. All creatures need air and water to exist and composting worms are no different. The first thing you must do is cut large holes on the bottom of each bin with a keyhole saw. If you are following this particular format, you are going to need two bins because you are going to stack them on top of each other. This gets into separating the two worm end products, which will be talked about later.

Next you need to drill ventilation holes so that the worms can get air. Remember that these holes are not going to be as large as the drainage holes that you just drilled on the bottom of each container. The holes for water drainage should be at least an inch in diameter. Ventilation holes on the other hand can be one quarter of an inch so make sure that you have enough drill bits to choose from. The number of holes should be adequate to properly ventilate and drain the entire bin.

You will need to get your daily newspaper out now. If you just raked the lawn, all the better. Used shredded newspaper and leaves, get them wet, and place them so that you have about four inches of this material on the bottom. Also, if you have ever raised any kind of bird, you will know that they need grit in order to eat their seeds. Likewise, worms also need a small amount of grit to help digest their food. You can purchase corn meal or sand or if you have some dirt available from outside, throw a handful in the mix and they will be just fine.

If you are using two containers, you will do the following: take the lid from your top container and place it on the ground. Place the second container that does not have worms, but has dirt, on four blocks on top of the lid. Pending of course that you did not drill holes in the bottom lid, this will act as a catchall for excess water that will drain out of the containers over time. This liquid is what you may have heard being called worm tea.

The container with the worms will be placed on top of this with a sheet of cardboard that is soaked on top of the organic material and worms. Finally, to conclude this journey to make a worm bin, place your remaining lid over the top of the cardboard and seal it and check on it every couple days.

Worms actually do each quite a bit of food depending upon how many you have. With about a thousand worms per pound, and with each thousand worms eating half their body weight a day, you will need to add at least half a pound of organic material to your worm composting bin every few days in order to keep them happy, full, and processing compost.

Other things to check that you will learn over time is how moist soil is, and you might also check how many worms have replicated since you began the whole process. Too many worms in one small area can cause them to die if bin conditions and food amounts are not properly maintained.

You are done. You have just created your very own worm bin and now that you know how to make a worm bin, you might think of showing a friend or even making another one and expanding on your composting endeavor. Hopefully, you may use some of the organic compost or even the worm tea that will be produced over time to fertilize any plants or garden vegetables that you decide to grow during the year.

By: Chris Dailey

Compost is basically organic matter that has broken down any sufficient manner that the mineral and nutrients with in the compost can be readily absorbed by the plants that you are attempting to grow in your organic garden. Organic gardeners from all over the world have used similar practices in order to stimulate the growth of their plants by naturally enriching the soil. Here are a few tips on how to create and use the best organic gardening compost for your garden.

Composting is a very complicated process in and of itself, but for everyone that tries to do it the first time, it will be a very easy process. What is difficult is the process that we cannot see underneath the tarp or in the bin. Tiny bacteria and an assortment of mites and, if we are using worms, red worms will work together to create compost for you.

Doing this can be summarized in a few words. Taking your remaining organic waste and placing it in a container or under a tarp will start the process. You have a few other items to mix in, such a grass clipping from your weekly mowing or it can be newspaper and a touch of saw dust from a project that you may be doing on the weekend like fixing your home. If you work at a place such as a saw mill that creates an abundance of material each and every day, you can use that as part of you bedding in a sparing way. Or if you are a restaurant owner, or know someone in the business, even a coffee shop, you will have enough free organic material to make this work in no time.

Overall, you just add a pile of waste together and the magic begins. There is much more to the process, but to make it simple at first is a good way to draw you into or sell you on the idea that it will not take much of your time and that it will help you and the environment. Each person, by doing their share, and not using materials that can cause environmental harm, are helping fix our world. Now, here is a bit more on the composting process.

As a rule of thumb, what ever soil you may be trying to grow your organic garden in, it can never get enough compost because soil can only be improved by the addition of organic matter. Compost is basically organic matter that has broken down any sufficient manner that the mineral and nutrients with in the compost can be readily absorbed by the plants that you are attempting to grow in your organic garden. Here are a few tips on how to create and use the best organic gardening compost for your garden.

Organic gardening compost can be purchased locally or you can create your own kind of compost by using the left over food that you have on a daily basis. By purchasing a composter bin or simply creating an area where your scraps can be thrown, this material will decompose over time and can be used as fertilizer for your organic garden.

Typically, an ideal blend for any kind of organic compost would be equal amounts of soft and green material such as maneuver and leaves that are readily available at most households. Additionally, hard and brown material such as dead leaves or chopped up twigs can be used to help balance your organic gardening compost mixture. A simple things such as taking the clippings from your lawn and the pruning sprung your tree can add to your compost pile quite quickly.

The ideal size of a compost pile could be anywhere from three to 4 feet high unless of course you are using and organic compost bin. The key is to make sure there is significant air for aeration of the compost. Using a large stick or a pitchfork to continually aerate were pile will help the organic composting process along quite nicely. Other people have used PVC pipes to help aerate larger compost piles with great success.

A nice bonus to creating your own compost pile is that the high temperatures that will occur will help sterilize many of the diseases brought by spores or other pests that may be lurking in the compost itself.

To accelerate the decomposition process of your compost pile, you can add some of it to the garden soil. Basically, the more scraps from your home, the more trimmings from your surroundings that you add, and the more aeration that the pile receives, all of this will help accelerate the decomposition process. Other possible additions could be peat moss, seedless weeds, and even fruit and vegetable peels from your household. All of this will help create a magnificent organic gardening compost pile in no time at all.

By: MIKE SELVON

Composting has become a popular means of recycling organic materials so that they can be used in beneficial ways instead of adding them to a landfill. In addition to being a great way to participate in recycling efforts, composting is also a great way to generate rich organic materials that can be added to soil for organic garden projects. Compost bins provide a simple and easy way to help people get started composting and are particularly good solutions for people who have limited living space.

There are a number of different types of composters on the market to meet a variety of needs and situations. Bins for composting can be built from materials that you already have around the backyard, or they can be purchased from garden supply stores, especially those that specialize in organic gardening. In some municipalities, the recycling centers provide bins free or at a reduced cost to encourage people to recycle their organic materials themselves.

One variety of compost bins are called holding units. These bins are very low maintenance and are probably the best solution when the amount of space for the home composting project is very limited. With holding units, the compost pile is not turned and therefore not aerated, so the overall process of decomposing will take anywhere from six months up to two full years.

Portable bins are another common type of bins and they are very similar to the holding units but they are able to be taken apart, moved and rebuilt. Different types of materials can by used and mixed with this kind of bin. Many types of plastic portable units are available on the market to purchase or they can be constructed out of wood and wire fencing.

One of the best types of bins is the variety called turning unit composters. These are specifically designed to facilitate easy turning of the compost pile which helps to aerate the heap. Turning units will produce fully decomposed material in a shorter amount of time because the composting process is accelerated by the improved aeration, allowing the bacteria to better do its job in the decomposition process. In addition, people like turning units because there are less odor problems because of the improved ventilation.

Turning unit composting bins can either be a set of bins or they can be a device that easily rotates or tumbles such as a barrel or a ball-type of unit. The drawback is that turning units generally cost most, are harder to build and require more space. The organic materials to be composted also need to be collected separately until enough has been gathered to fill the unit to the correct level and once it is full and the composting process begins, new materials cannot be added.

Simple heaps are an alternative for people who do not want o purchase or build composter bins. Turning a compost heap is always optional, but it should be kept in mind that the process of composting is accelerated when the waste material is turned at least a couple times a month.

You will want to locate your compost bins according to the functional needs of your family and also taking into consideration the aesthetics of the area. You should not place your compost pile near an area that you frequently use for entertaining, even if you have it screened with fencing or plants. It should be located where it gets plenty of air circulation, in a partially shady spot and near the garden area if possible.

By: Chris Marshall

Some organic gardeners believe that hydroponic gardening can’t be organic because you don’t use soil. How can you have an organic garden without rich, loamy soil? Good soil is at the heart of organic gardening. Organic hydroponic gardening does exist, however, and has some advantages over conventional organic gardening.

Soil-less Gardening

Organic hydroponic gardening is organic gardening without the soil. Organic hydroponic gardening relies on water to provide the nutrients needed for plant growth. Organic hydroponic gardening still requires a growing medium; most plants won’t grow without something solid to put their roots into. The growing medium is not the source of nutrients, however; it’s as sterile as a chemically fertilized monoculture wheat field. The growing medium is simply a structure to root the plants into and to hold the nutrient-filled water.

Organic hydroponic gardening growing medium can be any organic material. Vermiculite and perilte are often used. (Be careful when handling vermiculite, as it is a source of asbestos.) Straw, cotton, plant fiber or any other organic material can be used.

The Secret is in the Water

Organic hydroponic gardening relies on dissolving substances in water to provide nutrients for the plants. Because it is organic, anything that goes into the water must be organic. Compost tea is frequently used in organic hydroponic gardening. It is made by soaking compost in water and straining out the solid material. The rich nutrients dissolve in the water and are used to feed the plants.

Manure tea is also used in hydroponic gardening. Manure tea can be a source of bacterial contamination of the produce, including contamination with lethal varieties of E. coli. Manure should be well-composted or sterilized before making manure tea. You make it the same way you make compost tea; by dissolving the manure in water and straining out the solid material.

Other organic additives that can be used are seaweed and fish emulsion. There are no special fertilizers because you continually circulate and refresh the nutrient mixture.

Special Uses

Organic hydroponic gardening has a niche in the organic gardening landscape. It fits anywhere that there is no soil available or the soil won’t support plant growth.

Organic hydroponic gardening is used to grow crops in parts of the world where the soil has been over-farmed and is too depleted to grow food. Organic hydroponic gardening is used in outer space living and will almost certainly be part of any attempt to colonize the moon or another planet. Organic hydroponic gardening is being used for urban gardens on rooftops. This enables urbanites to grow healthy food in wasted space. Rooftops can’t always support the weight of soil for traditional organic gardening.

Hydroponic gardening can be organic. You don’t get to play in the dirt, which is the part many organic gardeners love, but you do get to grow healthy, sustainable, organic food with organic hydroponic gardening.