How To Make Compost
Jackson Porter
Compost is formed when garden debris is allowed to decay. It is
an organic matter. If you want to succeed as an organic
gardener, you must take full advantage of using compost. It is
good for increasing the fertility of the soil for planting
seeds. It also forms an useful element for greenhouse and
potting soil development. The nutrient value of cost depends on
the fertilizers and other nutrient-rich materials which are
added to it as it goes through the decomposing process.
The benefits of a composted humus is invaluable to the average
gardener. It is no wonder that most amateur gardeners use
compost in some form or the other. When nutritive elements have
been added to compost it is used as rotted manure, while it is
used as humus when no nutrients have been added.
To make the soil soft, spongy and absorbent, the best garden
loam is used which contain one-third humus. Soil that is sandy
and humus-deficient, permit rain water to seep through taking
all the nutrients down with it. Likewise, a clay soil without
humus is so hard that it nearly repels water, and does not let
the roots to travel down looking for food and moisture.
Any organic matter can decompose (compost) if left at the mercy
of the elements. Leaves, grass clippings, plant tops, straw, old
hay, and sod are some of the materials which make good compost.
It is a common practice with many gardeners to add humus in the
form of weeds (that is raw organic material) to soil without
making a compost. They dig them in borders and all round the
plants.
When you add raw organic matter to the soil, it causes soil
bacteria to hasten the activity of humus. The soil can then be
depleted of nitrogen causing leaves to turn yellow. Thus it
makes sense to remove the weeds to the heap of compost,
returning them to the soil once they have become compost. Leaf
mold and peat moss are ready compost material that can be added
to the soil without any further composting. They are good
organic materials.
There are several ways you can make a compost pile. You can use
a 15 feet or so snow fencing wired into a circle in which a leaf
pile is kept. You can have a series of them in a row. Within 2
years, or less, depending on the weather conditions, this leaf
pile will turn into compost without any extra effort from you.
Compost made of variety of leaves is a good source of
additional potting humus, but offer very little nutritional
value. Broad leaved ever greens love acidic environment. Since
beech and oak leaves are acidic, they make excellent additional
humus to be placed around these trees.
About The Author: Jackson Porter is a staff writer at
http://homegardenenthusiast.com
and is an occasional
contributor to several other websites, including
http://www.environmental-central.com.
See Also:
All About Organic Gardening
Index of Gardens & Gardening
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