Gardening – The Secrets of Making Healthy Compost

For making a garden of your choice which has all the great combinations you have thought of, you can utilize these great container garden design plants ideas.

A fabulous containers garden can be made with endless varieties. The containers garden design plants that you choose for your garden decides upon whether your garden is going o be simple or an elaborate one. If you don’t have enough open space, container garden designs can be very useful to you. You can select upon the container plot design plants which can survive in your balcony, patio or even indoors, leaving aside the worries of not having outdoor space or a lawn in your house.

Another aspect you need to be aware of is, inadvertently building up the soil level. Over the years of adding compost and mulches, the original soil level increases to the point where it is several inches or centimetres higher. This can cause problems because the plant roots are no longer at the surface of the soil and aren’t getting as much oxygen as they once did. All plant roots need oxygen and if it is not available all plants die. This happens more with mulches but you still need to be aware of it with compost.

Overall, the good points outweight the bad ones.

C:N Ratio C:N stands for Carbon:Nitrogen ratio. This ratio needs to be balanced otherwise the compost won’t decompose. The reason why composts smell is because there is too much nitrogen (kitchen scraps, grass clippings) and not enough carbon and oxygen. This causes a build up of ammonia and this is what causes the smell. To rectify this problem more carbon needs to be added in the form of paper or leaves. The ratio is usually 30:1, this means 30 parts of carbon to 1 part nitrogen.

You can change your containers garden design plants every season if you love to see fresh look and new designs every season. The plant which you choose for your container garden must be compatible with the size of the containers. Although a full blossoming container garden will look beautiful, a fast growing plant may outgrow their container so you should try to scale them to their container size.

The width of the plant should not be more than 1.5 times the width of the container and the height not more than twice the height of the pot in order to maintain a balance in your urn garden design. The plant design and the pot design must be in contrast to each other, i.e. a flamboyant plant will look good in a simple container while an ornate pot will go well with a simple plant.

Construction of Composting Bays You need an area at least 1.5m X 3m for it to work This gives you plenty of room for turning your compost Walls are constructed from corrugated iron, or steel mesh, held in place using steel stakes, Star pickets or concrete -re-enforcing rods cut to length. Timber stakes rot too quickly. Form 3 bays that are open fronted 1 Bay is for putting material in to break down, 1 bay for spreading on the garden and the last bay is allowed to turn into compost. Turn using a fork on a weekly basis. Adds some nitrogen fertiliser – about 3 to 4 handfuls, blood and bone as it contains a high percentage of nitrogen. As micro-organisms break down the material in the heap they rely heavily on nitrogen present and quickly use it up. Adding blood and bone fertiliser replaces nitrogen used by micro-organisms.

Compost Bins This method of composting is best suited to those who have a plastic compost bin are in no hurry for having compost. This method can take up to 6 months. You can hurry up the process by regularly turning the compost at least 3 times a week. The extra oxygen allows the micro-organisms to break down the material more quickly. You don’t need to buy worms for your compost bins, they will come naturally if the conditions are right for them. Don’t build your compost heaps on bricks or concrete. The worms need to be able to escape into the soil if it is to hot or to wet. Then simply add all the kitchen and garden waste listed previously and over a period of time the worms will gradually eat their way through whatever you feed them. Micro- organisms will also be present in the bin and assist the breakdown process. These bins are especially good for smaller gardens. Watch the moisture content – they can be come too wet. Drill holes in the side to allow oxygen into the bin. Keep in a cool shady spot – Worms don’t like the heat. Don’t put citrus or onions in the compost.

Temperature The hotter the air temperature, the faster the compost breaks down. In winter compost takes several months longer to break down as the air temperature is colder.

Moisture The compost heap must contain some moisture for the micro-organisms to function effectively. The heap must be moisture but not too wet. The compost should have the same feeling as a squeezed kitchen sponge; it feels damp but not soggy. This is about 50% moisture content and is perfect for composting. The best time to add moisture to the heap is during the turning procedure where water can be applied to all areas of the heap and then mixed through.

Compost is ready to use when the inside temperature of the heap is the same as the outside air temperature. The length of time this takes depends on all of the factors that have been discussed ie. type of materials used, moisture content, frequency of turning etc.

Applying Compost to the Soil Compost can be applied to the soil in two ways:

1. By spreading it on top of the existing garden beds and letting the worms move it down into the soil or mixing it with the existing soil by digging it through. Care must be taken that roots of existing trees and shrub are not disturbed. Digging it in to a spades depth is ideal for a vegetable patch, annual or perennial beds.

2. Using the compost as a mulch and simply spreading it over the surface of the garden to a depth of about 4 centimetres. But be careful, it can become compacted because of the small particles if you put it too thickly on and then can become water resistant.

Compost Accelerators Products marketed to assist the breaking down process don’t work so don’t buy them. If you want to try and hurry up the breaking down process you can add herbs such as comfrey or borage.

Compost is a wonderful resource with many benefits. It is a fantastic way to use up garden and kitchen wastes and reduce landfill. It also has the added benefit of improving the water holding capacity of the soil and reducing run off. The quality of the final product – the humus – depends on how much effort you put into it and what you put into it. The secret of good healthy compost is oxygen

Resource Author Francisco R. Higueras
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