Composting

This month's "green" topic: Composting.

Composting is a great way to recycle and create mulch for your yard, providing rich organic matter that improves the quality of your garden soil. Whether you sprinkle compost on the surface of the soil or work it in, your garden plants and landscape will grow healthier and stronger thanks to the addition.

By incorporating organic matter to feed microorganisms and macroorganisms, a healthy soil food web is maintained. Composting enriches soil with nutrients for plant growth and releases nutrients slowly, unlike synthetic fertilizers, and inhibits soil erosion.

You need very little equipment to start composting: a pitchfork, a shovel and a hose .

Organic matter high in carbon ("browns") provides energy for decomposer organisms as they consume and break down the contents of your compost pile. Organic matter high in nitrogen ("greens") supplies the decomposers with protein. Maintain well-fed composting organisms with these varied ingredients.
"Browns" include dry leaves, woody plant trimmings, straw, pine needles, sawdust and paper products. "Greens" include kitchen scraps, coffee grounds and filters, leafy plant trimmings, grass clippings, manure and feathers.

The following items contain pathogens, attract pests and cause other problems, and should not be included in your compost: Ashes from barbecues and fireplaces, meat, bones, grease, fats, dairy products, weeds with seed heads, and animal waste.

Composting can be done in a bin or just a corner of your yard. Key points include sufficient moisture and rotation. Some bins have cranks for rotation or are ball-shaped for rolling the compost in the container. Lids deter animals & prevent rain from over-moisturizing the compost. Alternatives to bins include compost piles, pit composting (a 3' wide hole at least 18" deep), and sheet composting (spread a layer of raw materials on your garden and rake into the soil - best done in the fall to allow the materials to break down over the winter).

Together, we CAN make a difference!