Composting/Gardener’s Gold
I LOVE to compost!!! Why? Because I LOVE using compost and I am a frugal gardener. Also, bags of compost are heavy! So I make my own which is super easy. The compost will help your soil in so many ways, but for me, the most important reason is that it makes your soil better by adding nutrients and micronutrients which in turn create better vegetables.
Years ago I read that compost is considered brown gardening gold and that you can make your own. So when I started talking about making compost, my husband bought me Let It Rot! The Gardener’s Guide to Composting by Stu Campbell. My husband knew that I would probably just wing it and figure it out as I went along, so I think he wanted me to learn a little more about it. This were pre-Internet days! I still enjoy reading this book.
There is a lot of research on how to compost, but I don’t get caught up on the how the psychrophilic bacteria and enzymes work, the optimal amount of carbon and nitrogen, how much green and brown organic matter to add to the pile, etc. For me, it is more of an art than a science. Sure, if you produce manufactured compost, you need to perfect the science, but as a gardener, you can create compost according to your budget and lifestyle. As the years passed, I have become more intrigued by the science, but you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to make great compost. The basic premise is that organic matter decomposes. The rate of its decomposition is based on a lot of factors including but not limited to what types and ratios of organic matter you use and its moisture content, the temperature that is created in the composting environment, etc. Recently I was at a cocktail party and collected watermelon rinds to compost. Neighbors who enjoy my bounty also give me kitchen waste for me to compost. But you don’t have to be a “compost nut” like me to create wonderful compost!
How do I compost? I purchased a compost tumbler about fifteen years ago and it works just as well today as it did the day I bought it. It has a door where you place your matter, small vents and a handle. I use vegetable & fruit waste, spent flowers & stems, grass clippings and leaves. I keep a container in my refrigerator to collect kitchen waste and put it all in the tumbler. Some people don’t use grass clippings because they are concerned that some grass has gone to seed and that weeds may also be in the clippings which would cause weeds to sprout. But this has never happened to me. I put the waste in the tumbler and then I turn the handle a few times. This helps mix the materials so that they “mingle” or “cook” as the material generates natural heat as it decomposes. I compost year-round so my tumbler is never a “closed system”. If you don’t compost in the winter, you can purchase additive and add it to the tumbler so that it decomposes at a steady state while you aren’t adding matter.
How else do I create compost? Since I have a lot of room on the edge of my property adjacent to The Tomato Bed, I created an open air system. I collect leaves and grass clippings and put them on top of each other. I just lay them on top of each other; no need to mix them together. They will decompose naturally. I don’t add food waste because that would attract critters. What do I do with this and how is it different than my compost tumbler? I use this for mulch and anything leftover is put in my tumbler to become compost. I find that it is better to be proactive about weed control than constantly weeding. You have much better things to do than weed! Not only do weeds take away water and nutrients from your plants, weeds are unsightly. By the time I plant my garden, the top few inches of the pile of grass clippings/leaves are dry and I apply a thin layer (about one inch) of that to the top of my soil in the garden where nothing is planted. I also put it around my plants, but I leave about two inches around each plant so that it isn’t choked off by this material. This not only stops most weeds from growing, it also helps retain the soil’s moisture so that you don’t have to water as often. And if this isn’t enough, it will decompose during the growing season and its nutrients will go into the soil.
The material that is under what I used the first time is wet because it is decomposing. I spread this out so that it will dry and I can harvest more. This is important to do because the wet mixture is clumpy and odorific, but you will be surprised at how quickly this matter dries and the smell dissipates. I then repeat the process as needed. In the fall, I take all the organic matter that is left and add it to my tumbler. This will mingle with the rest of the material in my tumbler and will give me even more brown gardening gold!
Some people build a three bin system for making compost. Instructions for building one is in the book above as well as online. There are probably YouTube videos as well. Since I am now maintaining two gardens, my supportive husband has agreed to make me one this spring, but it seems like a lot of work. I need to give it some more thought. Some of my gardening friends use a three bin system and they all have told me that composting this way doesn’t require that much work and that you just need to spade the matter to mix it every once in while. Hmmmmm…
So that is why I love composting, how I make it, harvest it and how I use it. I think the benefits outweigh the little bit of work you need to do in order to create this gardening gold! It is never too late to start. So start collecting your organic matter today!