Other Organic Fertiliser

Peat Moss

Peat Moss is actually mined like any ore from deep compilations of forest products. When sold commercially, it can be so fine as to more resemble dust once out of the package. Packing peat moss usually means thoroughly compacting the peat into bales, squeezing it tightly inside the restraining sack and thus having it bursting open when opened up. When working with Peat Moss try and wet it as you amend, otherwise you may lose the entire bale from the wind alone. But this is a terrific amendment adding elements of brown energy that break down rapidly owing to its small, almost dust-like size. It retains water well, also and allows for free drainage once full.

Manure

Manure can often be obtained from local farms and stables. It ideally should be composted and decomposed until it turns dark, crumbly and odorless. Fresher manure has too much ammonia in it and can literally burn your plants and, needless to say, offend your neighbors if not yourselves. Many nurseries sell “aged manure” in bags. These are absolutely adequate amendments inasmuch as the nurseries pretty much have a reputation at stake in terms of supplying the correct essentials to gardeners and landscapers.
Added to a compost pile, this aged manure also adds a terrific level of decomposition already under way. The bacteria working away in the chemical soup of aging manure will spread rapidly and actually speed up the composting process for those organic materials already under way. If added to the compost pile, mix it as thoroughly as possible to better distribute these organisms.

Local Mulches

Many nurseries or landfills have a specific area devoted to composting. The dumps that take in organic materials seem so fussy when they check out what enters their dumps and landfills. Yet this stuff is on its way to becoming ‘Black Gold’ of yet another kind. These businesses make money recycling organic materials into literal mulches, very similar indeed to compost, yet just shy of the ‘green” elements spoken of in the “Compost” section. They scrupulously separate all this “brown matter” and mix it up into its own form of composting. This stuff is superb as a fertiliser, leavening the soil and adding drainage and storage capacity at the same time. The bacteria created during the breaking down of this material also adapts well to the soil and to additional and greener elements.

Other materials that can be used as a fertiliser include things as simple as adding a pile of grass clippings and tilling it in. “Cover crops” can be grown to add nitrogen and to break up the soil when an area is planned for using as a garden or landscape later. All-in-all, I most recommend these organic and chemical free amendments to create your garden. A good soil is everything, after all. Besides, once this is done, you can take a year off! Hey, if you do it really right, maybe 2-3 years off!