Compost - the Natural Fertilizer

One of the more promising and, of course, most sensible trends in recent years has been a more intense interest in Composting. Now, gardens thrive on this natural fertilizer. It goes into the soil and becomes “one” with it, changing its very structure and at the same time adding the chemicals, minerals, bacteria and textural values that all soils thrive on and which all plants feed on. What’s more, if you are composting using your household wastes in your garden, it is free!

Sample compost bins

Homemade compost bin	High quality plastic compost bin	Rotating compost bin

Almost any organic material is suitable for a compost pile or for use in one of the more modern and compact bins. The ‘pile’ needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or "browns," and nitrogen-rich materials, or "greens." Among the brown materials are dried leaves, straw, and wood chips. Nitrogen materials are fresh or green, such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps. Mixing certain types of materials or changing the proportions can make a difference in the rate of decomposition. Achieving the best mix is more an art gained through experience than an exact science. The ideal ratio approaches 25 parts browns to 1 part greens. Judge the amounts roughly equal by weight. Too much carbon will cause the pile to break down too slowly, while too much nitrogen can cause odor. The carbon provides energy for the microbes, and the nitrogen provides protein.

Some green materials include melon rinds, carrot peelings, tea bags, apple cores, banana peels - almost everything that cycles through your kitchen. You can successfully compost all forms of kitchen waste. However, meat, meat products, dairy products, and high-fat foods like salad dressings and peanut butter, can present problems. Meat scraps and the rest will decompose eventually, but will smell bad and attract pests. Egg shells are a wonderful addition, but decompose slowly, so should be crushed. All additions to the compost pile will decompose more quickly if they are chopped up some before adding.

Brown materials include such things as leaves, grass clippings, small twigs, even and the likes. . Bear in mind as well, with the addition of leaves, they should be ground into smaller size so that they can process faster. A chipper or a method of grinding them into smaller pieces is wise, otherwise you can wait years for it to break down. A few leaf species such as live oak, southern magnolia, and holly trees are too tough and leathery for easy composting. Avoid all parts of the black walnut tree as they contain a plant poison that survives composting. Eucalyptus leaves can be toxic to other plants. And avoid using poison oak, poison ivy, and sumac.

Compost is the end product of a complex feeding pattern involving hundreds of different organisms, including bacteria, fungi, worms, and insects. What remains after these organisms break down organic materials is the rich, earthy substance your garden will love. Composting replicates nature's natural system of breaking down materials on the forest floor. In every forest, grassland, jungle, and garden, plants die, fall to the ground, and decay and are slowly dismantled by the small organisms living in the soil. Eventually these plant parts disappear into the brown crumbly forest floor. This humus keeps the soil light and fluffy. That’s our goal with your garden.