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Basil for Everything
I planted three kinds of basil today. I love basil it is one of those herbs that just is is truly indispensible in the kitchen. Ocimum basilicum, Sweet Basil, is the most...read more on organic gardening
Ladybugs Ladybugs Come to My Garden
Ladybugs, also called lady beetles or ladybirds, can be a gardener’s best friend. The ladybug’s bright coloring brings welcomed cheer to the garden, as well as helping with...read more on organic gardening
Freedom
In the land where "the sun always shines," the heavenly globe had not shone its bright face for many days. I drove into town during a torrential downpour. I had yet to see...read more on organic gardening
Plant Now for Colorful Spring Blooms
(ARA) - Tracie Andrescik plants up to 200 bulbs every fall. “I guess I’m the bulb queen. I love the waves of color and early spring blooms I get with bulbs,” says...read more on organic gardening
Here is Why You Should Use Gypsum in Gardening
Do you have clay or layer of hard subsoil problems in your garden? Then gypsum may be the answer to help loosen the soil structure. It is not considered a miracle substance...read more on organic gardening
General Hydroponics to Cultivate Plants in Water
Gardening without soil? With general hydroponics, it's definitely possible. Often defined as "the cultivation of plants in water," general hydroponics has since come to mean...read more on organic gardening
Organic Fertilizers in Cane Farming
For the past few years, the focus of cane farming has been on the production of organic foods using organic fertilizers. The two reasons that explain this new tread in cane...read more on organic gardening
Proper care of perennials in the garden
Perennials have much to recommend them, including of course
their famed ability to regenerate year after year. After all,
while the longevity of perennials varies from...read more on organic gardening
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Compost, made from decomposed grass clippings, leaves, twigs, and branches, becomes a dark, crumbly mixture of organic matter.
Learn how composting works. Even a newbie to composting can make good quality compost. It can be compared to cooking as art or part science. The following 7 factors will help you master the art of composting.
1. Materials
After a time anything that was once alive will naturally decompose. But, not all organic items should be composted for the home. To prepare compost, organic material, microorganisms, air, water, and a small amount of nitrogen are needed.
These items are safe to compost at home:
* grass clippings
* trimmings from hedges
* vegetable scraps
* leaves
* potting soil that has grown old
* twigs
* coffee filters with coffee grounds
* tea bags
* weeds that have not went to seed
* plant stalks
These items are Not safe to compost at home:
* weeds that have went to seed
* dead animals
* pet feces
* bread and grains
* meat
* grease
* cooking oil
* oily foods
*diseased plants
2. What To Do To Make It Work
There are small forms of plant and animal life which break down the organic material. This life is called microorganisms. From a minute amount of garden soil or manure comes plenty of microorganisms.
Nitrogen, air, and water will provide a favorable environment for the microorganisms to make the compost. Air circulation and water will keep the microorganisms healthy and working. The nitrogen feeds the tiny organisms. You may have to add a small amount of nitrogen to the pile.
Putting on too much nitrogen can kill microbes and too much water causes insufficient air in the pile. You just cannot add too much air.
3. Beneficial Microorganisms
Bacteria are the most effective compost makers in your compost pile. They are the first to break down plant tissue. Then comes the fungi and protozoans to help with the process. The arthropodes, like centipedes, beetles, millipedes and worms, bring in the finishing touches to complete the composting.
4. Smaller is Better
The materials will break down faster if the microorganisms have more surface area to eat. Chopping your garden materials with a chipper, shredder, or lawnmower will help them decompose faster.
5. Size of The Pile
The activity of millions of microorganisms generates heat in the compost pile but a minimum size 3-foot by 3-foot by 3-foot is needed for a hot, fast composting pile. Piles that are any larger may hamper the air supply needed in the pile for the microorganisms.
6. Moisture and Aeration
If you can imagine a wet squeezed out sponge with its many air pockets, then this would be the ideal enviroment for the microorganisms in the pile to function at their best. Pay attention while your pile is composting, to the amount of rain or a drought you may have. Water in a drought and maybe turn the pile in a lot of rainy days. The extremes of these two may upset the balance of the pile. The use of a pitchfork would come in handy at this time.
7. Temperature and Time
Keep your pile between 110F and 160F and the beneficial bacteria will love it. Not too cool nor too hot.
The temperature will rise over several days if you keep a good ratio of carbon and nitrogen, maintain lots of surface area within a large volume of material, and maintain adequate moisture and aeration.
-Importance of Compost-
+Compost has nutrients, but it is not a complete fertilizer.
+Compost provides nutrients in the soil until plants need to use them.
+ It loosens and aerates clay soils
+ Retains water in sandy soils.
-Using the Compost-
+ A soil amendment, mix 2 to 5 inches of compost into gardens each year before planting.
+ A potting mixture, add one part compost to two parts potting soil.
+ Make your own potting mixture by using equal parts of compost and sand or perlite.
+ A mulch, prodcast 2 to 4 inches of compost around annual flowers and vegetables, and up to 5 inches around your trees and shrubs.
+ A top dressing, mix finely sifted compost with sand and sprinkle evenly over lawns.
The final thing I would suggest once you have mastered the art of composting is to look very seriously at making your very own aerated compost tea. This elixir will give you results that are hard to believe.
This article is provided courtesy of http://www.basic-info-4-organic-fertilizers.com Use the article but leave author box intact.
Copyright james ellison - http://www.basic-info-4-organic-fertilizers.com
Written by: james ellison
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