Amending Your Soil

The compost was finally "cooked" yesterday -- my first bin -- effectively completed in three years. I started with anaerobic rotting vegetables, loyally adding more and more until the bin smelled and the whole thing looked like poo. Then I decided to do some reading. I thought, "Really! How hard can this whole thing be?!" And it truly is not difficult, once you learn to punch holes in the bin, add a little water (not too much,) and add some little microbial helpers to get the job done. The end result was not the "black gold" I had been told about. It was more mushy, but that tell-tale black color was there. I buried it in some of the gardens yesterday. Three years worth of goop that barely filled two of my smallest gardens. I have still have my 3 largest gardens to amend and some other small ones. I've got to get my black gold produced faster. Once I learned how to do it properly. it took about three months. I'm going to save up for one of those rotating barrels so I can "make great fresh compost from start to finish in 3 weeks..." At least I think that's what the ad said.

One of the "garden centers" I visit regularly has put out a call to Ban Naked Soil! I put garden centers in quotes because Susan's Perennials is really a large backyard garden turned garden center by a local retiree. The garden is known for its gorgeous daylilies in rainbow colors. Susan also grows tremendous hostas. She is a remarkable garden conversationalist, spouting off information for anyone lucky enough to find her jewel of nature. Susan sporadically sends e-mails with information to her customers. "Ban Naked Soil!" caught my eye because I had decide last year to no longer use shredded bark or small wood chips for mulching. I've been told that they leach nutrients out of the soil as they decompose. I haven't yet researched how accurate this is, but since I don't like how the chips look anyway and they are very expensive, that was enough for me to ban them. Susan uses a combination of chopped leaves, grass and other yardwork leftovers to cover her bare spots. I have piles and piles of such castaways in my woods. I need to find an inexpensive way to chop them up and then plan to cover my beds for a fall project.

I'm constantly looking for ways to amend and protect the soil. Last autumn I covered the gardens in straw before the first snow fall. It seemed to work well, but since we had a mild winter I'm not sure it was necessary. This summer I've been using a seaweed and / or fish fertilizer. It stinks like a beach here at times, but the plants really do seem to like the stuff. Soil amending is actually fun. As a nod to yesterday's post, I should mention the book "Secrets of the Soil," which taught me to be more present with my soil. As I amend, I think about all the critters I'm making happy.

Let It Rot! (For composting beginners)

My three bin composting system placed near my garden for easy application and an insider's view of my beautiful rotting mess.

Are you seeking a simple explanation for creating your own compost? I recommend the book "Let It Rot." It treats composting as an art, not a science. It suggests various methods to follow for composting and provides troubleshooting. The troubleshooting is particularly helpful for heavily right-brained thinkers like me. (Place me in the category of those who may be turned off by some long-winded explanations of the chemistry for proper composting. I enjoy experimenting, but not detailed directions or recipes to reach my goals.) Instead, the book suggests things such as, if your compost is too wet, add dry leaves and grass. (AHHHH! I can do that!) I had been "composting" in a large garbage pail for two years. It was smelly and nothing was getting accomplished -- at least nothing useful for the garden. My problem? I needed air holes to promote circulation. Now that I know this I recognize that it is common sense, but I did not have the common sense to figure it out! (I transferred my compost to a new bin in which I could punch holes. After making the proper circulation, my yard smelled for two weeks. Unfortunately, the bins are located near my daughter's play area. The poor little girl did not want to go on her swing. I told her why it smelled and what the problem was and that I was going to fix it. The dear little girl volunteered to help, carrying dried bits to the pail and holding her nose while she dumped them in. Note: Unless you want to put up with the odor for weeks, do not punch holes in a closed container filled with acridic smelling, rotting vegetables!)

Here are some more helpful tips:
- turn your compost often, but not too often, so that you retain the heat necessary for descent composting (Did you even think about needing heat?)
- add some friendly microbes from you friendly neighborhood garden center or a little manure to get the process under way
- keep the pile moist, but not too moist
- good compost doesn't smell! Finished compost should be sweet and earthy
- there are many types of containers or lack thereof for composting (read the book and he'll explain)
- add as much as you can or want - grass clippings, newspaper, veggie leftovers, weeds (Did you know that some people even raid other people's garbage to get more for their compost bin? I'm not at this stage yet and think I'm probably lucky enough to produce enough unwanted organic matter that I will probably never get to this stage.)
-Chop up pieces as much as you can for faster decay. (Again, this makes perfect sense for by increasing surface area you allow the organisms to work on more parts, but I never thought to do it before this book.)
-Though compost is great for the garden, you will generally need to still add fertilizer as compost will not provide enough nutrients alone for your plants.
- Have fun with it. Yes, really, have fun. It is deeply satisfying to see smell my less odiferous compost and to see the newspaper pieces transforming into something else.

Despite not raiding others' garbage, I do feel myself becoming a composting addict. I check the pile everyday and am itching for the end stage when I can get this stuff in the garden. Maybe it is because I finally feel like my science experiment is progressing properly. Good luck and if you are new to composting too, let me know how you are making out.

Composting

I've been inspired by a woman who told me, "Our aim is to have no garbage leave our property." While this may conjure images of Shel Silverstein's "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout," what the gardener was really trying to convey is that she recycles just about everything! I've been composting half-heartedly for two years. What I have is two years worth of table scraps in a garbage bin -- smelly and sloppy. So, I have been reading up. I went out and bought three rectangular rubber maid barrels. I poked air holes in each. (Something I neglected to do in my original bin.) The bins are small enough so that I can easily turn the compost and large enough to fit in a few months of scraps. This time, I also plan to add newspaper and any other garbage that can take it. I added compost starter. As the material decomposes in the first barrel, I will move it to the second and the third barrel will be for nearly finished product. This time I will treat it as a learning process, observing the results each day and changing the technique as necessary. My daughter is fascinated. She even held her nose to help throw scraps in today - a process in which she never before took an interest. I assured her that if we can learn to do this properly it will not smell and that our plants will be a whole lot happier.



Cindy stands in front of her beautiful clerodenrum and her inspiring composting center