Healthy Garden Soil - Composting; How, When, & Why
By Sara Chute, Fri Dec 9th
In the soft, warm bosom of a decaying compost heap, atransformation from life to death and back again is takingplace. Life is leaving the living plants of yesterday, but intheir death these leaves and stalks pass on their vitality tothe coming generations of future seasons. Here in the dank,moldy pile the wheel of life is turning.
Compost is more than a fertilizer or a healing agent for thesoil's wounds. It is a symbol of continuing life. Nature herselfmade compost before man first walked the earth and before thefirst dinosaur lifted its head above the primeval swamp. Leavesfalling to the forest floor and slowing moldering arecomposting. The dead grass of the meadow seared by winter'sfrost is being composted by the dampness of the earth beneath.Birds, insects and animals contribute their bodies to this vastand continuing soil rebuilding program of nature.
The compost heap in your garden is an intensified version ofthis process of death and rebuilding which is going on almosteverywhere in nature. In the course of running a garden, thereis always an accumulation of organic waste of different sorts -leaves, grass clippings, weeds, twigs - and since timeimmemorial gardeners have been accumulating this material inpiles, eventually to spread it back on the soil as rich, darkhumus.
The Purpose of Composting:
Gardening and farming disrupt the natural pattern of the returnof plant matter to the earth. Compost is the link between modernagriculture and nature's own method of building soil fertility.
In addition to returning rotting vegetable material to the soil,there are two major reasons for making compost:
- to render certain materials such as manure and garbagepleasant to handle
- to increase the nitrogen content of low-nitrogen materialssuch as sawdust, straw and corncobs
The high heat of composting rapidly "cooks" the smell out ofmanure and garden waste. This is a significant gain becausegardeners are often reluctant to use those materials "fresh".
The composting process also increases the nitrogen content ofthe pile. Microorganisms "burn off" much of the carbon, reducingthe cubic bulk of the heap but correspondingly increasing itsnitrogen portion.
Organic matter is valuable to the soil only while it isdecaying. Even finished compost is actually only partly decayed.It continues to break down in the soil, providing food forincreasing populations of microorganisms upon which your planthealth depends. Pound per pound (kg per kg) compost is thefinest soil conditioner to be had.
How To Make Compost
Making compost is not difficult and can be easily done at home.Essentially, the basic methods call for layering naturalingredients in heaps in mixed proportions, providing necessaryair and moisture and turning the heaps to provide bacterialaction on all parts of the heap.
Just about any organic matter can be used. Weeds, fruit andvegetable peelings, grass, garden clippings, dead flowers,sawdust, woodchips, coffee wastes, nutshells, shredded leaves,and more can all be used provided they are chemical, pesticideand herbicide free. Also, do not use feces, or dead animals. Inshort, think to yourself, "Do I really want to eat this?"
Compost can be made either in open piles or in bins. Piles aremore easily turned, but bins have a better appearance in thegarden. Bins also have the advantage of better moisture andtemperature control. Personally, I have found beginning with apit in the garden seems to work best, as it attracts earthwormsto help with the breakdown of the materials, plus you can turnit easily.
1. Whichever method you choose, select a sunny spot and begin byputting down a 6 inch layer of plant wastes such as spoiled hay,straw, sawdust, plant leaves (shredding them first helps) gardenclippings, or wood chips
2. Add a 2 inch layer of manure and bedding
3. Follow with a layer of topsoil, approximately 1/8 inch thick.Unrine-impregnated topsoil is particularly valuable but find outwhat the animals have been eating as hormones, antibiotics, andchemicals etc, will end up in your soil and then in your food.
4. On top of this layer of soil spread a sprinkling of lime,phosphate, bone meal, rock, granite dust, or wood ashes toincrease the mineral content of the heap. Lime is not added ifan acid compost is wanted.
5. Water the pile, and continue the process of laying. Do nottrample on the heap as if it is matted down, aeration will beimpeded.
Within a few days the heap will begin to heat up and start toshrink in size. The heap is turned with a pitchfork 2 - 3 weeksafter being made, and again at about 5 weeks of age. Care istaken during turning to place the outer parts of the heap on theinside so that they can decay fully.
Do not turn the heap too frequently, as it needs to build upheat
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