By: Paul Hata

Is this going to be your first time to try your hand and luck in composting? This should not be that hard. But it isn’t that easy either. The sure thing about this is that it is going to take a lot of your time. But the end result will all be wroth it, especially if the next thing that you want to try your hand on is organic gardening.

The two actually go together. You will be able to utilize to its full potential your compost on your organic garden. If you think that you have a knack and you have the talent for it, you should really try gardening. It is not all work but no play. This can actually be just a hobby that you can use to relax while flexing those muscles out for a much needed exercise.

The main reason for gardening may be for beautification. But when you go the organic route, the reason behind this will be much bigger and much in tuned with nature. By making compost, you are also being one with nature. You are doing your part in preserving its beauty by gathering the waste elements that can be recycled to act as fertilizers to your garden.

For starters, it is only natural to worry if your project will be a success or not. But why worry if you can take the necessary actions for it to actually succeed. Here are some tips that you can follow.

1. Manage the stink. You don’t want to get into trouble with your neighbors for the sake of nature. To achieve this, you must keep the pile oxygenated. You can turn the materials periodically to gain such effect. This way, the materials on your pile will decompose regularly.

2. Decide if you are going to do it hot or cold. If you’ve decided on cold, you just have to pile all the organic materials and let nature takes its course over them. But this will take months to even years for all the materials to be good enough for compost.

If you will choose hot, this is a more detailed process and more effort is required on your part. You have to place your materials on a compost bag. Place the leaves first then put soil into it. Add other kitchen wastes like scraps from vegetables and fruits. You must remember to moist this pile periodically for the bacteria to grow so they can aid in decomposing the materials faster.

3. Watch out for the unnecessary visitors. You must be vigilant in a sense that if you are seeing flies and other pests inhabiting on your pile, take the proper actions to get rid of them. You want the pile to rot but not in a way that it won’t be useful in the end.

4. Place the compost, whether it is being done through hot or cold way, a good distance from the household and nearby neighbors. This way, you can proceed with the steps without the probable intrusion and questioning by the people nearby who don’t get what is that all about.

Composting can really eat up a lot of your time. So do it methodically. Make sure that you’ll devote ample amount of time into the process if you really are serious about gaining positive results from this.

By: Chris Dailey

One of the largest time consumers in the organic gardening arena is taking care of weeds. Most regular gardeners will go to the store and buy several containers of herbicides and pesticides and weedkiller in an attempt to thwart these evil intruders that will inevitably overtake your garden area and possibly kill off all of the plants that you are nurturing. If you decide to take the time every day to pull the weeds, depending upon the size of your garden area, this could take several hours a day. If you are a working person, this is probably not a good choice in that your time is limited but you do want your organic garden to grow and flourish. One of the easiest ways to combat weeds is with organic compost. Here are a few tips on how to use organic compost to help battle weeds that will pop up in your garden.

Every person has the ability to start their own mulch pile. Mulch is simply the result of your organic waste from your regular eating habits that you place into a pile with soil and other organic materials. Over time, this next year will begin to decompose as a natural process and will eventually lead to a dark brown material that you can place in your soil or on the topsoil as you are about to learn. Composting is the process that actually will create the organic compost that you will need. The mulch is actually the non-processed early configuration of your organic waste as it begins the decomposition process. Either one is fine to use as a way to cover your crop but you may decide on which is better for you based upon the amount of time that you have during the day.

If you are limited by time, one of the easiest ways to use organic compost to prevent weeds is to start a mulch pile several months before you are about to begin planting. Because it would be at the very least unsightly to throw your organic waste on top of your planted garden area, starting a mulch pile so that the composting process may begin, months later you will have, depending upon the size of your pile, enough mulch and compost to begin covering the topsoil in your garden.

There are various reasons that you would like to cover your crop. This could be due to weather or a need to retain water in your garden area, but for this particular purpose, you want to lay on a thick layer of compost on top of the soil on and around your plants in your garden area in order to stifle the growth of weeds.

Weeds are a very prolific plant which can grow in areas that most plants cannot. You might even see them growing out of the sides of walls or on the sides of buildings where it would not be logical for any kind of a plant to grow or have the ability to grow. Weeds, however, are not completely indestructible and do require the same basic needs that most plants require including sunlight, soil, air, and of course water.

By laying a very thick layer of compost on the topsoil of your garden, you will be eliminated in a very crucial element that is necessary for all weeds to grow and that is adequate sunlight. By removing their ability to quickly get to the sunlight, we needs will inevitably die because they cannot get above your thick organic compost layer.

In essence, not only will the mulch keep the weeds from the sunlight but at the same time we’ll provide protection for your crops as you grow them in the form of weather erosion protection and keeping the ground level at an even temperature so that the real crops can begin to grow. Likewise, essential nutrients in the ground that would be taken by the weeds will now be safe as the weeds again to die and only your organic plants begin to flourish.

Therefore, by taking the time to plan ahead and creating your own little system for taking your organic waste outside and placing it into a bin or a covered pile so that it can begin to decompose, you will create for yourself a natural and free layer of protection for your up and coming garden. You could also go to your local store and purchase humus or some kind of composting material in a bag which would also work in the same manner.

The bottom line is that either one will protect not only your plants that you are growing but also give you many more hours of free time that she would otherwise lose trying to protect your organic garden by stopping the inevitability of weed growth.

By: Jaden Santon

Composting can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. The best part about creating compost is that it can consist of any organic material and we all have access to plenty of that every single day because it is produced by the lawn, garden, and kitchen.  Compost is what happens when leaves, grass clippings, vegetable and fruit scraps, woodchips, straw, and small twigs are combined, then allowed to break down into a soil-like texture. Compost introduces and feeds diverse life in the soil, including bacteria, insects, worms, and more which support vigorous plant growth.

Compost is multi-faceted but not intended as a fertilizer. It offers only a relatively low proportion of nutrients, yet what it does is close to magical. In its finished form as mulch, it reduces evaporation, reduces or prevents weed growth, and insulates the soil from extreme temperature changes. Mulch also keeps the upper inches of the soil cooler in daytime, warmer at night.

Yet compost has humble beginnings. Common, easily accessible materials destined to decay together in a pile will give your soil the gift of minerals and other components it needs. The materials are indeed numerous. 

Regardless of the particular ingredients, making compost is akin to making bread or beer; soil-digesting bacteria like yeasts need warmth, moisture, air and something to feed on to keep them alive and growing. Almost all of the practical problems associated with making compost stem from too much or too little of those basic factors.

Compost is created from layers of grass clippings, leaves, weeds, kitchen scraps and, if available, farm animal manure. If you have meat eaters in your home, don’t use their meat scraps, which will attract rodents. Also, do not use litter from your dog or cat; it doesn’t break down properly and contains too many pathogens.

Over the years, composting has gotten a reputation for being a time-consuming job, but this is not necessarily the case. You don’t need to build a big box or turn the pile every so often. A barrel, a hole in the ground or a pile on top of the ground is satisfactory.

The important requirement is to be sure the waste material is covered with soil, so it doesn’t attract rats, other rodents or flies. You can build your layers directly on the ground, without any frame at all; if you use a container, be sure it is well ventilated.

The trick to successful compost is balancing ingredients high in nitrogen–fresh grass clippings, other fresh, green plant matter, most kitchen scraps–with those high in carbon–leaves, straw, dried grass, washed eggshells, wheat germ or other milled grains that have become too rancid or old to use, and any dried, brown plant matter. Too much nitrogenous matter yields an anaerobic, smelly pile. Too much carbonaceous matter results in a pile that never heats up. The ideal ratio is one part nitrogen to three parts carbon.

Start with a layer of brush–small twigs, no large branches–a couple of inches deep; this will help your pile to breathe. Then, keeping in mind the 1 to 3 ratio of nitrogen to carbon, add a layer of mixed plant material. You may enrich the pile with horse or cow manure. These materials don’t break down; they simply add nutrients to the final product.

Then lightly water the pile so it’s evenly moist. Too much water will interfere with aeration; too little water and the pile won’t ferment. If your pile sits in the open, you should pull a tarp over it before a storm, and then remove the tarp after the rain stops so the pile can breathe. An 8-inch layer of straw mulch spread over the top of the pile serves the same purpose.

Alternate layers until the pile is 5 feet high by 5 feet wide by whatever length you choose. A properly made pile that is loosely packed and well aerated will reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees within a few days. It should smell like wet hay. If the pile fails to heat up, pull it apart and redo it by adding layers of fresh green matter. If the pile becomes anaerobic (is too wet to aerate), pull it apart, let it dry out, use it as mulch and start a new pile.

After three weeks, the pile will have shrunk in size; this is normal. Dig into the pile with a spading fork and completely turn it over until the contents are redistributed; the idea is to put unfermented particles in contact with those that are further along. Let the pile rest, so the temperature will rise again. Turn it a second time five weeks later, let it rest a few weeks and, with luck, you’ll have a rich, crumbly pile of “black gold.”

Also, air is vital to any composting process. Without air (anaerobic) composting is possible but unpleasant with the putrescent of rotting material assaulting your nose. It is usually because there is too much nitrogen and too little air in the mixture. If you have an abundance of trees on your property, autumn leaves can be plentiful and messy, but they are there for your use and can be easily gathered and stored in leaf bags.

Timing is crucial. Your pile is fully composted when it fails to heat up after being turned. Then it is ready to use. And use it with a good feeling, for it is your garden’s natural fuel. Remember your objective, the foundation of every successful garden, is to achieve healthy soil.

Compost supplies the soil with a rich, friable source of humus and helps retain moisture in the garden, in addition to supplying valuable nutrients. By placing grass clippings, fallen leaves and unused plant parts in a compost pile, you are preparing them, through decomposition, to be put back to work for you.

Composting actually recycles garden waste and returns the nutrients that have been taken from the soil. By using organic composting agents, it is possible to speed-up the process of decomposition.

Now that you’ve gotten that garden in, how do you take care of it?

By: Chris Dailey

When you think about soil, often we think of the black earth that we dig up when we stick a shovel into the ground. If it is good, it is typically dark and robust with some kind of animal life crawling through it. It may also be very moist and have an almost earthy smell to it with a saline content. Some may be dry, light-colored, the kind that you would see in a dry area near your household or in areas that have not gotten rained for many weeks or months. Whether or not you are working soils with clay, many rocks, or that you have mixed yourself that has a good mixture of compost, it is quite possibly one of the most important ingredients to a successful organic garden. Here are a few tips on how you can improve your soil so that your organic plants can grow quickly and easily.

The first step you should adhere to is not using any kind of soil that is hard or compacted. This kind has no moisture, may be full of rocks and excessive salt contaminants that may hinder the growth of your organic garden. Your best choice is to either purchase a premium batch of garden dirt that you can use to grow your garden with. You should also add some sort of organic fertilizer whether it is an organic compost or some compost that you have made your self if you happen to have a worm farm that is handy. If you have decided to grow your organic food in a small area such as a small container that you can fit into any room that you have such as a pots or a planter, this may be your best choice especially if you are new to organic gardening or gardening in general so that you can get a feel for how the soil should look and feel to the touch.

Another important aspect of soil is to make sure that the plants that you have are planted are in a mixture that is balanced properly. This means that the dirt needs to have a consistency that is not too wet or dry. Some that is oversaturated may create a situation that will grow fungal infections more rapidly and perhaps even cause rotting to the root system of the plants you are growing. Proper irrigation if in a pot or planter can be made by placing holes at the bottom so that excess water can drain out and stagnate, creating an even worse problem. Likewise, plants that are not watered enough will simply not grow, wither and die. As with humans, we all need water in a balanced amount that will keep us hydrated and healthy as we go through our day and plants are no different.

Organic gardening consists of many different types of plants, most of which are found in your common grocery store. The only difference is that you are growing without chemicals or pesticides that will potentially be harmful to you and anyone else eating the plants as well as cause growth problems with the vegetables that you are growing. Common choices for many indoor or outdoor organic growers are lettuce, eggplants, and even many types of beans. Strawberries are also a favorite if you are a fruit lover. Make sure to maintain the pH balance of your soil as well depending upon the types of vegetables that you are growing in your organic garden.

Last but not least, the greatest soil in the world will not help your plants survive if you do not have the proper amounts of heat or light while they are growing. He that is the most important factor to consider because as it is exposed to more heat, it will dry up more quickly, and the plants themselves will use water more quickly due to the increased temperature. Watching out for the right levels of humidity are also important regarding the hydration of the plants in the composting material that they are growing in.

Soil, that we take for granted every day that we walk upon as we go to the store, to the park, and as we mow the grass around our homes, when growing an organic garden, it is a top item on your list when looking to succeed a growing organically based foods. Take the time to make sure that your pH levels, compost mixture, and moisture content is all at the optimal levels you for you plant one seed into your potential organic garden and you will be well on your way to success and healthier food in no time at all.

DEB asked:


We have tons of kitchen scraps and I’m going nuts looking at everything from turning to bokashi to tumblers to holes. Does this really have to be so complicated? Then I read blogs online of failures, too much work, smell, etc. What really is the right way to do this in a smallish but not miniscule home flower/veggies organic garden?